Telugu Desam on shaky ground in Khammam

The Telugu Desam, which has been showing its verve in the district for the last 33 years, has faced a heavy blow with the exodus of thousands of committed party workers. Interestingly, farmers and people from BCs, who constituted the major chunk of the party cadre, have now deserted the party.

K Ramnarayana, a political analyst, said that the TD was away from power for the last ten years and there is no hope that it would come to power in 2019 elections.

“The party workers and leaders, who enjoyed power for 17 years, have lost hopes that the party would return to power. They decided to leave the party when Mr Rao, the strong TD leader in the district, resigned to the party,” he observed.

As many as 17 ZPTCs, 16 mandal parishad presidents, 200 MPTCs and chairmen of 30 primary agricultural cooperative societies joined the TRS.

The party faced heavy loss in Sattupalli, Bhadrachalam, Aswaraopet, Wyra, Palair, Yellandu, Madhira and Kothagudem assembly segments. Nearly 22 mandal level presidents and other members resigned to the TD.

The activists and party leaders have gone to state capital in 2000 vehicles. Traffic was interrupted at various places on Khammam, Hyderabad road as leaders made a beeline to the state capital.

The leaders who were identified as hard core TD supporters left the party. Telugu Rythu president N Venkateswara Rao, TD mahila leader Rayala Latha, Telugunadu Vidyarthi Student leader Krishna Chaita-nya and the entire governing body of Sattupalli municipality took the TRS membership.

Bikkasani Nageswara Rao, a party leader said that they took the decision as they were distressed by the gestures of party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu who has been giving preference corporate forces than the grassroot level leaders.