He is business-like, matter-of-fact and devoid of emotions when he speaks, to the extent of sounding boring. His partymen believe that the lack of these qualities which conventional politicians consider assets are no handicaps. For Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, a.k.a. CEO of Andhra Pradesh, performance is the buzz word.

With less than four months to go for what looks set to be simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Babu -- as he is popularly known -- is bristling with confidence. He and his Telugu Desam Party are facing their first Assembly elections after the death of NTR and preparations are in top gear.

On the eve of the party's biennial Mahanadu conferencze, the first since 1994, Naidu addressed a delegates' meet where TDP functionaries from all over the state sat down todiscuss the political scenario, pass resolutions and exchange notes on their strengths and weaknesses at the hustings. He reeled out statistics about the achievements of the four-and-a-half-year rule of the TDP government, the innovations he has brought about in the administration of the state and the dividends that had accrued. He talked about the benefits of a WAN (wide area network), teleconferencing, power reforms, plant load factor in the state's power generators and the like. Hardly the stuff that one gets to hear from a politician.

The political message was clear: I'm no run-of-the-mill Chief Minister. Judge me by what I have done; give me another chance to serve you better. Naidu's politics is clearly a departure from the politics that his mentor practised. NTR was no doubt committed to the betterment of the masses; he had a vision but didn't know how to translate it into action.