Tirupati: N Chandrababu Naidu was on May 28 re-elected president of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for the fifth consecutive term.

52-year-old Naidu was re-elected to the post he has held since August 1995 when he took over the reins from party founder and father-in-law N T Ramarao, on the second day of the party's annual convention at Mahanadu.

Amidst a loud applause from the 7,500 delegates, election officer and senior leader U Venkateswarlu declared that 18 sets of nominations were filed in the name of Naidu proposed and seconded by various delegates as the party completed its biennial organisational elections.

Naidu has remained the undisputed leader of TDP, which has been in power ever since in Andhra Pradesh.

Passing through turbulent times after taking over the government and party leadership, Naidu made strenuous efforts in bringing in reforms in economic, social, administrative and other fields and lead his party to a convincing win in the 1999 Assembly elections erasing the stigma that he had hijacked the government established by the charismatic NTR.

Earlier, Naidu was elected president at the Mahanadu in 1997, 1999 and 2001 after taking over the party's reins in 1995.

Amidst much fanfare and jubilation from the crowd, party members, including senior member Yerran Naidu, State ministers, and district leaders, felicitated Naidu on his re-election.

PTI