HYDERABAD:AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is learnt to have finalised the names for the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust Board. After months-long churning, he okayed the name of TDP senior leader and former MLA Chadalawada Krishnamurthy for the post of the TTD Trust Board Chairman, sources told Express. Krishnamurthy’s name has been doing the rounds for several months as the front-runner for the coveted post.
Even though several political heavyweights such as Rayapati Sambasiva Rao and Maganti Murali Mohan aspired for the top job, Naidu reportedly picked Krishnamurthy to keep his word given to the ex-MLA during last year’s polls.
The Chief Minister is also learnt to have decided to nominate two leaders from his ally, the BJP, to the 18-member board. “Naidu decided to induct six TDP MLAs and two BJP legislators into the TTD board. A GO in this regard will be issued after the Chief Minister’s return from China,” sources said.
It is understood that three legislators — two from the TDP and one from the BJP — from Telangana State have also been selected as TTD Trust Board members.
The State government has increased the numerical strength of the TTD board from 15 to 18 recently. TTD Executive Officer D Sambasiva Rao, Principal Secretary (Endowments) and Endowments Commissioner JSV Prasad will be the ex-officio members of the board. Representatives from the neighbouring Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will also be appointed as TTD members. Naidu is also said to have made up his mind to name Nita Ambani from the Reliance Group as member of the board. In fact, the naming of chairman and members of the TTD Trust Board had been delayed for several months.