Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday affirmed his commitment to revive the party in Telangana, aiming to reclaim its lost glory with a complete restructuring of the state party unit.
The TDP, viewed as an “Andhra party” in Telangana, lost momentum post-bifurcation, particularly after Naidu chose to shift his base to Vijayawada. Many party leaders either joined the BRS or the Congress like Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
On his first visit to NTR Bhavan, the party headquarters in Hyderabad, after returning to power in Andhra Pradesh, Naidu thanked the party workers in Telangana for their participation in protests during his incarceration in the Rajahmundry Central Jail last year.
“TDP, which was born for Telugu people, should be in Telangana. I am asking you whether the party that was born in Telangana should continue here or not. There were several people who worked for the party. TDP will be restructured in Telangana soon. We will encourage youth and bring in young blood,” said Chandrababu Naidu, who was greeted by party activists with visible enthusiasm.
Stating that the political roadmap of the party in Telangana will differ from Andhra Pradesh, he said, “With the enthusiasm among the cadre here, I am confident that the TDP will certainly regain its past glory. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are like my two eyes, and TDP will continue to work to protect the interests and welfare of both states.”
Naidu also praised the development that Telangana witnessed in the past ten years while ruing that his own state was lagging behind. The difference in the per capita income between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh was 35 per cent, primarily due to Hyderabad. Although due to the relentless efforts of the previous TDP government, it had gone down to 27.5 per cent under the destructive reign of YSRCP, it increased to 44 per cent, claimed Naidu.
Referring to Saturday’s meeting between the chief ministers of two Telugu states, he further pointed out that although Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were under two different parties, there was a need to work together in the interest of the Telugu people.
After bifurcation, Naidu had conceived hopes of turning TDP into a national party with a presence in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. But after the cash-for-vote fiasco, he gave up on the hopes of expanding TDP’s influence in Telangana and shifted to Vijayawada lock, stock, and barrel. However, with the BRS on the decline and KCR on the back foot, Naidu hopes to resuscitate the TDP in Telangana.