With NTR daughter Purandeswari’s elevation in party, BJP targets ‘Naidu vote bank’ in Andhra

Purandeswari is among the 8 BJP general secretaries recently appointed by BJP, with analysts saying her selection is part of the party’s efforts to reach No. 2 position in the state.

BJP general secretary Purandeswari | Twitter

Hyderabad: Former Union minister Daggubati Purandeswari’s elevation as a BJP general secretary is being viewed as an attempt by the party to cut into the vote bank of the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh.

BJP national president J.P. Nadda inducted Purandeswari into his team Sunday as one of the eight general secretaries. She is the only woman among the eight.

Political analysts say the BJP will primarily bank on the fact that she is the daughter of former chief minister N.T. Rama Rao, also known as NTR, to get a foothold in the state by tapping into former CM Naidu’s vote bank. The former MP and the former CM are related — Naidu is married to Purandeswari’s younger sister Bhuvaneswari. 

“The first qualifying factor is that she is NTR’s daughter. He (NTR) holds a legendary status in both Telugu states, particularly Andhra,” senior political analyst Inuganti Venkat Rao told ThePrint. “Apart from that, she is a seasoned politician, balanced, outspoken and presents herself very well… Her appointment is to particularly target Naidu than Jagan at this time. They want to replace TDP first and will then look at what to do with YSRCP.” 

According to analysts, the BJP is aiming to reach the ‘number 2’ position in Andhra by at least 2024, and as such, the obvious target is former chief minister Naidu, who still enjoys significant popularity in the state. 

“On a national perspective, I don’t think her appointment is of big significance. There are a lot of other general secretaries. But for the BJP in the South, there’s a dearth of good leaders,” senior political analyst Professor K. Nageshwar told ThePrint.

“If they want to emerge as strong opposition first, they will need a strong face against Naidu. And with the NTR family angle and community etc, she becomes an obvious choice for BJP. The idea is to strip off the social formations that are loyal to TDP,” he added.

Purandeswari herself has made plain the BJP’s ambitions in the state. Thanking Home Minister Amit Shah and Nadda for reposing faith in her, Purandeswari, reportedly said she would have a special focus on Andhra Pradesh and strive to see that the BJP emerges as a strong alternative to the ruling YSRCP. 

A family affair

If it does come to pass, the Purandeswari-Naidu tussle could be an internecine struggle. 

Naidu, in fact, faces strong allegations of ‘backstabbing’ his father-in-law NTR and toppling his government to take control of the TDP in the 90s. Despite the allegations, internal fights and NTR’s children holding equal popularity, Naidu emerged as NTR’s successor and became the face of the yellow party in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Both families had shared good relations after Naidu took over reins of the TDP in 1995 but the ties have since soured.

The new BJP general secretary is also a seasoned politician in her own right. She joined the Congress in 2004 and won Parliamentary elections from the Bapatla constituency that year. She served as the Union minister of state in the HRD ministry between 2004 and 2009. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, she won on a Congress ticket from Visakhapatnam.     

Following the election, she continued in the same ministry before being shifted to the commerce and industry ministry in 2012.

In March 2014, she joined the BJP. 

BJP’s caste calculations 

The elevation of Purandeswari is also part of the BJP’s caste calculations in Andhra Pradesh. Both the former Union minister and Naidu come from the dominant upper caste Kamma community. 

And while Naidu has strong traction among the Kammas, a section of the community is still very loyal to NTR. By bringing in Purandeswari, the BJP hopes to capture this vote-bank.  

The party has also made efforts to woo the Kapus, who community leaders say constitute 23 per cent of the population. According to Venkat Rao, this is why the BJP has appointed Kapu leader Somu Veerraju as the state party president.