After Kadapa in 2025, TDP to hold its 2026 annual conclave in Nellore

Tirupati: In a calculated move to solidify its electoral gains, the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has announced that its annual conclave ‘Mahanadu' will be held in Nellore district this year. The move marks TDP's strategic focus on the Rayalaseema and Nellore regions — territories historically dominated by the YSRCP — as it had held its 2025 conclave in Kadapa.The decision also underscores a seismic shift in Andhra Pradesh's political landscape. For decades, these districts were considered impenetrable strongholds for the Congress, and later the YSRCP. In the 2019 elections, YSRCP stamped its domination by securing 49 out of 52 assembly seats in Rayalaseema. However, the 2024 general elections saw the TDP-led NDA alliance, including the Jana Sena and the BJP, shatter the YSRCP ‘bastion' by winning 55 out of 62 assembly seats across Rayalaseema and Nellore belts.What was even more overwhelming for Nara Chandrababu Naidu's TDP was the fact that the party won seven out of 10 assembly seats in Kadapa, YSRCP chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy's home district, which was literally deemed impenetrable for any political party. The TDP also managed to end the three-decade reign of the dominant Muslim minorities in the Kadapa assembly constituency following the resounding victory of Reddeppagari Madhavi Reddy, who became the first woman MLA of Kadapa since 1952.TDP zonal committee member Reddeppagari Srinivasa Reddy said the party leadership, buoyed by the electoral success in the region, decided to hold its annual conclave in Kadapa last year. "It was the first time in over four decades that the Mahanadu was held in Kadapa. The three-day annual conclave held from May 27 to 29 was a grand success, with over five lakh people taking part in the final-day public meeting addressed by chief minister Naidu," he said.TDP has now decided to shift the venue of the 2026 Mahanadu from Srikakulam to Nellore, where the party achieved a clean sweep in the 2024 elections, winning all 10 assembly seats. TDP national spokesperson Anam Venkataramana Reddy said the choice of Nellore serves two purposes — celebrating TDP's resounding electoral victory in the district, and hosting the party's annual conclave in Nellore for the first time since TDP's inception in the 1980s. Beyond the optics, the conclave is viewed as an ‘act of consolidation' for the Reddy vote bank. By bringing the party's entire brain trust to Nellore, the TDP aims to foster a sense of inclusion for the community while drafting a comprehensive development roadmap for the region.