Has Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu decided to revive his party in Telangana, where it has been almost defunct for the last five years?
It appears so, judging by Naidu's decision to come to Hyderabad to hold talks with his Telangana counterpart and Congress president A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday evening.
After his disappointing experience in the 2018 assembly elections in Telangana by joining hands with the Congress and two other parties to form a grand alliance, the TDP chief has virtually pushed his party’s Telangana unit into limbo.
The TDP did not contest the November 2023 assembly elections or the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Several TDP leaders in Telangana, including L. Ramana, Kasani Gyaneshwar, and Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy, left the party to join the BRS. The TDP has not been active in Telangana.
But the resounding victory of the TDP in Andhra Pradesh and Naidu’s return to the post of Chief Minister have created a lot of excitement in the Telangana unit of the party. The NTR Bhavan at Banjara Hills is suddenly buzzing with activity.
The enthusiastic reception Naidu received in Hyderabad indicates a potential revival of the TDP in Telangana.
The TDP chief was taken in a massive procession from Begumpet airport to his residence in Jubilee Hills, with thousands of people participating.
The entire route from Begumpet airport and the surrounding areas were decked with Telugu Desam banners, flags, and other paraphernalia.
Popular film director K. Raghavendra Rao welcomed the meeting between the Chief Ministers of the two Telugu states.
“Welcome to N. Chandrababu Naidu, who transformed Hyderabad into a global city. This meeting should pave the way for many good results,” he said on X.
The euphoria among the TDP cadres has led to talk that the party is keen on contesting the upcoming local bodies' elections in Telangana.
On June 28, Telugu Desam Party politburo member Bakkani Narasimlu said that the party would contest the local bodies' elections in the state.
He even mentioned that plans were being made to regain the Telugu Desam Party’s past glory in Telangana.
"Our party will emerge as a better alternative to the other parties in the state," he said.
