VIJAYAWADA: Since assuming charge as Telugu Desam Party (TDP) working president, Nara Lokesh has focused on strengthening the party at the grassroots. He is now looking to introduce technology-driven reforms to attract Gen Z and encourage the younger generation in the party.
He plans to allocate certain nominated posts at State and district levels to workers who have been recognised as Best Worker five or more times on the ‘My TDP’ app without any external recommendation.
“The party high command itself will directly recognise a worker’s performance and encourage them without needing any recommendations, irrespective of caste, religion or region,” Lokesh said.
Speaking during an informal interaction with journalists at his residence on Tuesday, he said he had proposed this to Chief Minister and party national president N Chandrababu Naidu.
Chandrababu Naidu is synonymous with technology and pioneered its use in governance. His son Lokesh is now extending that legacy to the booth level. Even Naidu did not use technology to strengthen the party organisation to this extent. Lokesh is leveraging it to encourage and motivate workers.
The TDP has over one crore registered members and its ‘MyTDP’ app has recorded more than nine lakh downloads. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds the record in India with over 50 lakh downloads, the TDP follows next. Known for a strong organisational cadre at the booth level, the TDP is striving to retain its hold in the era of Gen Z and social media.
Generally, securing a party position is a complex challenge and getting a government-nominated post requires far more than good performance. Candidates are often shortlisted based on caste, religion and region, a process that is a tightrope walk for political parties. Leaders often struggle to satisfy the rank and file before and after allocation of posts. Many parties, even after assuming power, delay filling these positions for months or years due to the complexity and potential political fallout.
From another perspective, Gen Z seeks recognition based on talent and performance. Lokesh now aims to set a new precedent by combining these elements and leveraging technology. He plans to automatically award certain nominated posts to workers recognised as Best Worker five or more times on the ‘MyTDP’ app.
Workers log details of their grassroots activities in the app while the party also assigns specific tasks. Workers earn points for each activity and those who remain active at the grassroots and on social media stand a better chance of accumulating higher scores. “This is a way to recognise the performance of workers in every cluster and to understand where the party is strong or weak,” Lokesh said.
Lokesh said he is dedicating more time to the party than ever before and enjoys the process. He said the Intintiki Telugu Desam door-to-door outreach campaign has already been completed once at the grassroots and they have met cluster-level workers. There are plans to meet them two more times over the next two years.
“We consider the party worker to be the true leader of our party. Meeting them is a priority and we must listen to what they have to say. Every MLA is also prioritising this programme,” Lokesh said.
Clarifying on the alliance with the Jana Sena, Lokesh said there would be no divorce. “Every family has issues and every party has differences. Similarly, while differences may exist between us, our alliance will continue for decades. There is complete understanding and trust at the leadership level. Even if there are minor issues at the grassroots, we will resolve them. I will not tolerate any party worker or leader crossing the line regarding the unity of the alliance,” he said.
Back in 2012, Rahul Gandhi, then Congress general secretary, made a similar attempt to encourage youth based on merit and performance over internal recommendations. He introduced ‘Khidiki’, a digital platform for Youth Congress and NSUI. However, Congress leaders accustomed to traditional politics, opposed the internet-based platform.
The party lacked the infrastructure to take it to the grassroots and it was never integrated with social media. The initiative failed. However, politics and technology have changed significantly since then. It remains to be seen what results Lokesh’s current effort, aimed at addressing the aspirations of Gen Z, will yield in this social media-driven era.
TDP striving to retain hold in era of Gen Z
The TDP has over one crore registered members and its ‘MyTDP’ app has recorded more than nine lakh downloads. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds the record in India with over 50 lakh downloads, the TDP follows next. Known for a strong organisational cadre at the booth level, the TDP is striving to retain its hold in the era of Gen Z and social media