Yerran Naidu's last journey was to a marriage party

Telugu Desam Party's senior leader and former central minister K Yerran Naidu, who played a key role in building the party’s ties with other national and regional parties, died in a road accident in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam district during the early hours of Friday. He was 55.

Naidu, a politburo member of the TDP, was returning to Srikakulam from Visakhapatnam, after attending a marriage when the accident occurred.

His SUV was hit by an oil tanker from behind near Ranasthalam in Srikakulam district in north coastal Andhra, about 700 km from Hyderabad, around 2 am. Naidu, who was occupying the front seat next to the driver, had a concussion in the chest area.

A profusely bleeding Naidu was shifted to Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Srikakluam, where the doctors’ efforts to resuscitate him failed.

He was declared dead around 3.30 am. Four others traveling with Naidu were also injured. Two of them were admitted to RIMS but are out of danger. According to family members, Yerran Naidu's funeral will be held in his native village Nimmada in Srikakulam district on Saturday morning.

TDP leaders expressed shock over his death. A pall of gloom descended on the TDP state headquarters N T R Bhavan in Hyderabad as senior leaders rushed in to pay floral tributes to the departed leader.  “I lost my right hand,” an emotional TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu said.

Chandrababu Naidu, who was camping in Pedachintakunta, Mahbubnagar district as part of his ‘Vastunna Meekosam“walkathon, expressed grief over Yerran Naidu’s death and said it was a deep loss to the party. He then rushed to Hyderabad to reach Srikakulam on a special flight. Many TDP including T Forum leader M Narsimhulu broke down on learning about the death of their politburo member and senior colleague.

Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha also condoled the death of the TDP leader.

Immediately after joining TDP in 1982, Yerran Naidu was elected to Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for four times since 1983 and four times to Lok Sabha since 1996. He, however, lost the Lok Sabha election from Srikakulam in 2009.

A lawyer by profession, Yerran Naidu served as Union Minister for Rural Development in the United Front Government between 1996 and 1998. He was also Leader of Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party between 1998 and 2009.

In 2004, the former Union Minister survived a bid on his life by the outlawed CPI (Maoists), who blew a landmine targeting his vehicle in Srikakulam district.