HRD Minister and TDP Working President Nara Lokesh greeting party leaders and workers during his recent visit to Kadapa district. File

| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The recent two-day visit of HRD Minister Nara Lokesh, the maiden one after his elevation as the Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) Working President, has buoyed the party cadre in Kadapa district, which was once considered the citadel of the Congress and later the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).From scoring a duck in the 2019 general elections, the TDP struggled hard to bag seven out of the 10 Assembly seats in the undivided Kadapa district in 2024, giving the party the much-needed boost in the Rayalaseema heartland.Even the YSRCP was reduced to its minimal score of three seats in the district, which includes Pulivendula, represented by the party chief and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.Similarly, the TDP lost the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat due to the triangular fight witnessed in the constituency, with the entry of APCC president Y.S. Sharmila. TDP Polit Bureau member and the then district president Reddeppagari Srinivasa Reddy, who expected the party ticket, had to back out at the last minute in tune with the party’s dictate.Unrepresented communityThe huge victory for the TDP-led NDA Alliance in 2024 could not have happened without the dominant Reddy community in Rayalaseema preferring to sail with the TDP. Mr. Lokesh’s recent visit to the politically sensitive district, which happened two years after the party came to power, was marked by a deluge of developmental projects, but the expectations of the leaders and cadre are far from met.With the Election Commission announcing its schedule for the nomination of four Rajya Sabha seats from Andhra Pradesh, the Reddy community of Rayalaseema, which remained unrepresented for decades whenever the TDP was in power, expects a breakthrough this time.It may be recalled that the TDP had provided a couple of opportunities to C. Ramachandraiah, hailing from the Kapu community of Kadapa district, in the past. It is hence the Reddy leaders of the region were pinning hopes on Mr. Lokesh’s visit to Kadapa and made the two-day visit a thumping success. Published - May 24, 2026 05:50 pm IST