What is Chandrababu Naidu’s game-plan in appointing Bakkani Narsimhulu as the party president for Telangana? Bakkani without doubt is a loyal TDP man and has been with the party through thick

and thin. He did not even make an attempt to join any other party. But, can he be the right choice for the party, which is hoping to revive and reinvent itself in the key Telugu state of Telangana?

TDP’s long-standing Telangana state unit president L Ramana has recently resigned and joined the TRS. Since then, the party remained headless in Telangana. After much deliberation, Chandrababu Naidu appointed Bakkani Narsimhulu as the party chief. This has surprised many as there were senior hands like former MP Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy. Reddy had held senior positions for decades and can reorganise and resurrect the party. But, ignoring his credentials, Chandrababu opted for Bakkani.

Though fiercely loyal, Bakkani did not have a sparkling career. He was MLA for one term from Shadnagar. He is relatively unknown even in Shadnagar these days. A Dalit and known to be highly religious, Bakkani made a name for himself as a preacher of Bhagavad Gita in Shadnagar and surrounding areas. It was this popularity that brought him into politics.

But, will he be able to rise up to the situation and rebuild the TDP? Will he leverage his Dalit status and try to bring those sections closer to the TDP? These are the questions being asked ever since he has been appointed the party president for the Telangana state unit. Interestingly, Bakkani himself has said that it was only the TDP that has made a Dalit the party president. No other party as a Dalit as the state chief, he said.