Chandrababu Naidu’s comeback journey from defeat and arrest to TDP's major victory in Andhra Pradesh assembly elections

Five years after a humiliating defeat by a much younger Jagan Mohan Reddy, TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu is on track for a major victory in the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections. With the support of allies BJP and Janasena Party (JNP), Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is leading in 130 of the 175 seats according to the latest figures. This triumph comes just months after Naidu was arrested in a corruption case. In the previous assembly, TDP had only 23 members.

Read More: Andhra Pradesh Election Result 2024 Live Updates
Read More: Andhra Pradesh Election Winner List


The TDP is also performing well in the Lok Sabha elections, leading in 16 of the 25 seats. The BJP and JNP, as allies, are leading in three and two seats, respectively.

N Chandrababu Naidu was born on April 20, 1950, in Naravaripalli, Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. His political career began over four decades ago with student politics at Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati. Naidu, now 74, initially joined the Congress party and became a cabinet minister. Later, he switched to TDP, founded by his late father-in-law and famous actor N T Rama Rao.

Read More: Tamilnadu Election 2024 Results Live Updates
Read More: Tamil Nadu Election Winner List Full updates

Naidu first became chief minister in 1995 and has held the position three times. His first two terms as CM were during the era of united Andhra Pradesh from 1995 to 2004. His third term came after the state was split, with Telangana being carved out of Andhra Pradesh 10 years ago.

As CM of the undivided state, Naidu was a key figure in the development of modern Hyderabad, transforming it into a major tech hub. In the late 90s, he played a crucial role in forming the Central Government, supporting Atal Bihari Vajpayee's first NDA government from the outside.

In 2014, Naidu became the first chief minister of the newly reduced state of Andhra Pradesh and served until 2019. During this term, he promoted Amaravati as the capital city, but his defeat left this project unfinished. His successor, YSRCP leader Jagan Mohan Reddy, significantly hindered the progress of Amaravati.

Naidu's career hit a low point with his 2023 arrest in the Skill Development Corporation Scam case by the YSRCP government. He was arrested in a pre-dawn raid on September 9 and spent nearly two months in Rajamahendravaram central jail. However, Naidu was granted interim bail on October 31, which became permanent on November 20. This allowed him to prepare for the 2024 elections and rejoin the NDA alliance with TDP, BJP, and Janasena.

Read More: Maharashtra Election Winner list