Politicians and political parties of our country never fail to surprise us. Very soon one more name is going to be added in the list of temples dedicated to Indian politicians and celebrities. This time, the temple is being built for Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

The ruling Telugu Desam Party of Andhra Pradesh is planning to construct a series of temples across Andhra Pradesh with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party president Nara Chandrababu Naidu as their main deity. The party’s plans to have Naidu temples will be unveiled at the foundation-laying ceremony of the new Andhra capital, Amravathi, which is also where one of those temples is likely to be situated. Guntur is another town being considered by the party for the temple.

According to reports, a larger-than-life idol of the Chandrababu Naidu, akin to Statue of Liberty in New York, will be installed in the temple to be built on the banks of river Krishna at Harishchandrapuram in Amaravati – the new Capital Region of the state. The temple is being planned on the riverbank in such a way that the waters of Krishna will touch it while Naidu’s idol will be anywhere between 15-20 ft.

The proposed temple will be constructed on a government land and probably funded by taxpayers’ money. Reports suggest that the initial expenditure on the temple is around Rs. 15 -20 lakh which can go upto Rs. 1 crore.

Sources say the temple is an expression of gratitude to Naidu who has made the village part of the new state capital. Villagers are happy to be included as part of the new capital and this is why they have decided to make this temple.

TDP sources said the party has already ordered Naidu idols to be built by prominent sculptors of the state. The party has also invited designs from leading architects for the temples.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the event scheduled on October 22, which also coincides with the Vijaya Dasmi festival.

It is not for the first time that temples are being built for the politicians: Sonia Gandhi, Narendra Modi, Mayawati, NT Rama Rao, YS. Rajasekhara Reddy are a few to be named. Especially in the south, it is a common practice to have temples of celebrities and politicians. Earlier, a student by name Sai built a small temple for Telangana Chief Minister K Chandraekhar Rao near Agricultural University at Rajendranagar in August 2014. The idol – digital print of KCR – blowing the conch akin to Lord Krishna and ahlo around its head is worshipped.