HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu’s son Lokesh, who is already calling the shots both in the party and the government, is expected to be given a bigger responsibility at the party’s annual conclave, Mahanadu, scheduled to be held on May 27, 28 and 29.
Sources said Naidu, who has decided to conduct the Mahanadu at new state capital Amaravathi, on a grand scale, is of the view that the party’s maiden mega event - in the reorganised state and the new capital - is the right forum for the elevation of his son.
“It is an open secret that Naidu’s son has been calling the shots both in the party and state government. But, the leadership wants to give him a key post in the party so as to give legitimacy to his involvement in party affairs,” a senior MLA close to the TDP chief’s family told Express.
Lokesh, the Stanford-educated businessman-turned-politico, has been focusing on winning the hearts and minds of the party cadre with the introduction of various welfare schemes for them, probably as a prelude to his anointment.
During the recent party membership drive, Lokesh had introduced insurance concessions in corporate hospitals for the party workers. On Monday, he started classes in the Skill Development Centre, set up at the party headquarters here, to train the party workers in any trade of their choice.
“We are imparting technical and other skills to batches of 250 workers each to help them get jobs in industries,” Lokesh said, adding that the TDP would set up skill development centres in each district across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the next two years to help the party cadre.