Chandrababu re-elected TDP central committee chief

Visakhapatnam: Nara Chandrababu Naidu was today unanimously re-elected as president of Telugu Desam Party's central committee here.

The biennial election was held during the three-day annual conclave of TDP Mahanadu that ended in the port city today.

Party election officer E Peddi Reddy declared Naidu elected as president of the central committee as he was the only one in the fray after close of nominations yesterday.

This was for the record 22nd time that the Andhra Pradesh chief minister has been handed over the party reins.

He was first elected as TDP president (of united Andhra Pradesh) in 1995 after he triggered a split in the party by dislodging founder-president N T Rama Rao from the top post.

Since then he had been continuing as the party chief.

Following the bifurcation of the state in 2014, the TDP declared itself a 'national party' and a central committee was put in place with Naidu as the head in 2015.

This is second successive election as the TDP central committee president.

The party constitution was amended during this Mahanadu, empowering the central committee president to appoint or remove chiefs of the state units.

Naidu took oath as the TDP head amidst lusty cheers by the party cadre.

He vowed, as the TDP chief, to build a society free of inequalities.