Hyderabad: While the Telugu Desam wants to grow into a national party, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the ruling party in Telangana, is trying its best to to confine it to Andhra Pradesh.
The TD recently appointed separate presidents for its AP and Telangana units, and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was designated national president of the party.
To expand its footprint, the TD decided to contest state and general elections in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other states. While this is so, the TRS is encroaching on the TD’s turf in Telangana, which is a vital element in its national plans.
After Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam has a strong base only in Telangana; the party cadre has to be developed in other states.
In fact in the undivided state, the TD cadre was stronger in the Telangana region than in Seemandhra. region.
The TRS is trying to wipe the TD out of TS by admitting its MLAs and strong leaders. The TD has no MLC left in Telangana, all of them having been absorbed into the TRS.
Of the 15 TD MLAs elected in 2014, only five are with the party. Some of the remaining five may jump ship soon. The erosion resulted in the TD winning just one of the 150 seats in the recent GHMC elections.
With no base elsewhere, the Telugu Desam could soon be confined to AP as a regional party. Perhaps vexed with this, Mr Naidu has told Telangana TD leaders that he has no time and needs to focus on Andhra Pradesh issues.
But then, if Mr Naidu does not spare the time for the Telangana unit, there is no other leader who has the strength or the wherewithal to revive the party.
