On Thursday the Telugu Desam Party adopted a resolution at its yearly Mahanadu meeting calling on the central government to award the Bharat Ratna to its late founder and former film star N T Rama Rao. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who built much of his career with help from his father-in-law NTR, has long benefited from backing by the NTR family. NTR brought the young Naidu from Congress into the TDP in 1983, one year after founding the party. The two men had grown close after NTR arranged the 1981 marriage of his daughter Bhuvaneshwari to Naidu. Naidu had begun in Congress politics and won a seat in 1978 before serving as cinematography minister, where he first met NTR. After losing his seat in 1983, Naidu joined the TDP at NTR’s invitation and took on organisational duties rather than contesting the 1985 polls. Party veterans recall that NTR often sought Naidu’s advice during crises, including the brief 1984 revolt by Nadendla Bhaskar Rao. In 1989 Naidu won from Kuppam on a TDP ticket, then helped rebuild the party after its defeat. Relations cooled after NTR married Lakshmi Parvathi in 1993. Naidu and other leaders felt sidelined as Parvathi gained influence. In August 1995 Naidu led a successful internal revolt, becoming chief minister on 1 September while NTR was still in office. The move left the NTR family divided and resentful.
