TDP uses technology in organizing hybrid Mahanadu

An activist takes a selfie in front of a screen live-streaming proceedings from Mangalagiri in the digitally connected cluster in the North Assembly constituency of Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. | Photo credit: V. RAJU

The two-day Mahanadu 2026, held virtually from its central office in Mangalagiri on Wednesday, turned out to be a large-scale demonstration of grassroots digital mobilization and technology-led organization management, and one of its notable features was the setting of a timer for leaders, including Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, to complete their speeches.

Mr Naidu had 45 minutes to deliver the presidential message to thousands of leaders and cadres who attended virtually as it was decided to hold the conclave in a hybrid mode to save expenditure that would have been incurred especially on fuel prices, in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for austere management of resources to mitigate the impact of the war in West Asia.

The TDP conceptualized a hybrid architecture under the leadership of TDP National Working President and IT Minister Nara Lokesh to make participation more inclusive, scalable and cost-effective while enabling real-time engagement from across the state.

Over seven lakh cadres participated through a combination of physical attendance and digitally connected cluster centers set up across AP, according to a party report, which said 1,875 digitally connected Mahanadu clusters have been set up across the state.

The party also deployed a GPS-enabled digital invitation system integrated through the MyTDP platform, through which cadres reportedly received personalized invitations that automatically mapped them to their nearest participant center using geolocation technology.

At the heart of the hybrid Mahanadu model was a central command and control center set up to monitor and coordinate the nationwide event in real time. The party has deployed thousands of booth-level and constituency-level volunteers as local digital anchors trained to help cadres with app integration, QR-based attendance systems, streaming access and troubleshooting at cluster centres.

Published – 28 May 2026 0:46 IST