From Nara Lokesh's schoolmate to power centre: Rajesh Kilaru's rise to TDP National General Secretary

Hyderabad: Among the many appointments in the Telugu Desam Party's sweeping organisational restructuring announced on Wednesday, one name stood out- Rajesh Kilaru. Long known as Nara Lokesh's closest confidant and backroom strategist, Rajesh Kilaru has now been elevated to National General Secretary, the very post Lokesh himself held until Wednesday.

Widely regarded as the third most powerful figure in the TDP after Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his son Lokesh, Rajesh's ascent from a nominal state executive secretary until now to a coveted national leadership role reflects just how central he has become to the party's decision-making architecture.

His journey within the TDP is nothing short of remarkable. Rajesh joined the party in 2012, when it was in opposition and its fortunes were at a low ebb. But his entry was not that of a stranger as he and Lokesh had shared a classroom at a Hyderabad school and their bond stretched back decades. That personal history became the bedrock of a political partnership that has only grown stronger with time.

Rajesh stood by Lokesh through the party's most difficult chapter, the humiliating 2019 election defeat that reduced the TDP to just 23 assembly seats and saw Lokesh himself lose his debut contest from Mangalagiri. It was in the aftermath of that rout that Kilaru's strategic instincts proved most valuable. He is widely credited as a key architect of Lokesh's 3,000-kilometre Yuva Galam pada yatra, the gruelling walkathon that rekindled public connect with the TDP, catapulted the party back to power, and transformed Lokesh from a soft-image politician into a mass leader.

Ever since the TDP-led NDA alliance returned to government, party insiders have pointed to Rajesh Kilaru as an indispensable node in the matrix of both party and government affairs. On matters ranging from organisational decisions to certain government issues, Lokesh is said to place considerable weight on Rajesh's counsel and the intelligence his team provides.

His formal elevation, therefore, is less a surprise than a public acknowledgement of power long exercised quietly. Kilaru will now serve as one of three National General Secretaries alongside Union Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu and MP Dr Byreddy Shabari. Notably, all three are in their forties a pointed generational statement from a party that is itself turning 45, and one that signals where the TDP believes its future lies.