From Chittoor to Telangana: Kanipakam temple board gets wider canvas

 Tirupati: Expanding its temple administration beyond local boundaries, the State government has announced the new Trust Board of the famed Sri Varasiddhi Vinayaka Swamy temple at Kanipakam, giving representation to members from other districts — and even Telangana.

The new 16-member board, announced on Wednesday, reflects a clear attempt by the government to bring wider political and regional participation into the management of major temples, similar to its earlier move at Srikalahasti Devasthanam.

The newly appointed board is heavily dominated by TDP, which has secured 13 of the 16 seats. Jana Sena and BJP have been allotted two and one member respectively. The members include a mix of leaders from diverse constituencies, cutting across regions and communities.

Those who found a place on the board are Chandrasekhar Reddy (Puthalapattu–SC), Dr BV Naresh (Kuppam–Jana Sena), Parimi Chandrakala (Tadipatri), KS Anasuyamma (Gangadhara Nellore –SC), Kathi Sudhakar Reddy (Puthalapattu–SC), Sandhyarani Devarakonda (Rajampet), Sunitha Guntupalli (Prathipadu–SC), Kothapalli Siva Prasad (Puthalapattu–Jana Sena), TV Rajya Lakshmi (Kurnool), Vutla Nagaraju Naidu (Puthalapattu–SC), Sripathi Satish (Telangana–T-TDP), Perumal Subramanyam Reddy (Puthalapattu–SC–BJP), Kilaparthi Rajeswari (Madugula), P Padmalatha Kanakaraju (Chandragiri), Vasantha (Kuppam), and V Srivani (Piler). The inclusion of Sripathi Satish from Telangana marks a notable expansion in the temple’s governance approach, signalling that the administration intends to make major temples representative of the larger Telugu community rather than just local stakeholders.

In September, the State had already appointed TDP leader V Surendra Babu, popularly known as Mani Naidu, as chairman of the trust board. A familiar face in temple administration, he previously held the same post in 2019 for about seven months before stepping down when the government changed. The trust board was not in place since June 2024 after the change of the government in the state.

Kanipakam Sri Varasiddhi Vinayaka Swamy Devasthanam