The Telugu Desam party’s decision to postpone its annual party meeting called “Mahanadu’ which coincides with the birth anniversary of the party’s founder president Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao (NTR) surprises many as well exposes the leadership’s ‘fear psychosis’ status.

Does TDP also decided not to celebrate the birthday or NTR this year? Can the party leadership’s decision to mar Mahanadu with the birthday celebrations of their leader, NTR, be acceptable to the cadre? Isn’t it a fact that, if Mahanadu organized, the leadership scared to face the wrath of those disgruntled elements against the leadership?

The debate has already begun regarding the change of guard to the top. Many feel as Nara Chandrababu Naidu, who took over the reins after the infamous ‘coup’ against his father-in-law and founder party president NTR way back in 1995, failed to rejuvenate the party since then should step aside and pave way for young Nandamuris.

Though, Jr NTR flatly refused of he being in the race, Nandamuri Balakrishna, the actor son of late NTR, is keep, if given an opportunity, as his film career is visibly on decline.

Meanwhile, the war of nerves between Nandamuris and Nara families also reached flash point, when few Naidu supporters tried to foist Naidu’s on Lokesh on the party. This is being stiffly opposed to by the Nandamuris, though they are yet to come in open.

Meanwhile, the exodus from the party to newly formed YSR Congress Party had also become cause of worry. In the recent past, if former party MP M V Mysoora Reddy deserted on refusal of re-nomination to Rajya Sabha for second time , then the Gudivada MLA, Kodali Nani’s decision to quit the party, indeed put the party leadership in most awkward position.

One of the reasons may that the party losing even deposits in recent by-polls held after 2009 general elections. The TDP almost all by-polls held for 27 seats, not only lost, but many of their nominees forfeiting their deposits, is what put question mark on Naidu’s leadership, which is undoubtedly on ‘wane.’

That the TDP and its leader Naidu made many strategically errors is evident for every analyst to see. His first mistake was going for tie-up with the TRS in 2009 general elections and later deciding extend support to the traditional rival and ruling Congress party to nail Congress rebel and Kadapa MP, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, in alleged disproportionate assets case through so called ‘quid pro quo’ arrangement.

Instead of focusing on government’s failures and chalking out strategies to win over people, Naidu spent most of his energies in ‘cornering’ Jagan on amassing illegal wealth to establish a newspaper as well TV news channel.

Had he not aligned with the TRS and maintained his equi-distance with the ruling Congress, today the TDP would have been in a better place, even though its leader’s credibility touching the lowest ebb. He could have win back the people’s support, had he guided his party colleagues to dig up the government’s failures, especially in welfare schemes.

As a result, the TDP started losing its traditional vote bank, that’s of backward classes. While the fact been that the TDP was founded on the pillars of ‘Telugus’ pride, Naidu’s adventure to hobnob with separatist TRS in 2009 polls, isolate the other two region people from the party. His decision to abandon ties with TRS soon after the 2009 general elections further worsened its position, as the traditional voters of the TDP shifting to TRS.

Thus far, the party had pushed into ‘neither here, nor there’ position!

As if this was enough, the leadership never though how to wriggle out of this jig-jag situation and clear doubts among the people. Instead, it chooses to further weaken the party by spending all its energies to fight the ruling Congress arch ‘enemy’ YS Jaganmohan Reddy in the alleged ‘disproportionate of assets case’.

The leadership’s decision to come to some discreet understanding with the ruling Congress to defeat newly formed YSR Congress party founded by Jagan also misfired, not once on many a time since 009 – in council polls as well in by-elections to vacant assembly seats.

In that backdrop, the TDP leadership’s decision to postpone the party’s ‘Mahanadu’ may as well prove a death-knell as the party cadre bound to ask “Can even birthday celebrations of NTR be postponed to 2013?”