T-TDP heading for extinction?

• Vivekananda joins TRS
• Three more MLAs likely to switch loyalties

Hyderabad: The Telangana Telugu Desam party received a major jolt on Tuesday when the party legislator from Qutbullapur K P Vivekananda joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the presence of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

The future of TDP which has an existence of over three decades here is now facing a major political challenge. Vivekananda is the sixth MLA from Hyderabad and surrounding Ranga Reddy district to have joined the TRS. The TTDP had won 15 assembly seats in the 2014 general elections which were held immediately after the bifurcation of the state.

It is being said that at least three more MLAs are likely to switch loyalties to the TRS. Names doing the rounds are TDP Serlingampally MLA Arikepudi Gandhi and Rajendranagar MLA Prakash Goud. While TTDP president L Ramana accused the TRS of using all tactics and foul means to woo the opposition MLAs and leaders, Gandhi denied reports that he was quitting the party.

But the main reason for the unending spate of defections from TDP to TRS according to Viveknanda was because it has been established that the people are in support of TRS. The people supported the welfare programmes of TRS and that is what gave him inspiration to join the party.

He said he was attracted by the development and welfare programmes of Chief Minister KCR who was receiving support from all sections irrespective of caste, religion and region. He further said that he had worked with KCR earlier and he felt that working under him would help doing justice to the people.

Vivekanand also said that the TDP was no doubt a good party, but after bifurcation of the state, it’s leader N Chandrababu Naidu had confined himself to Andhra Pradesh and was not able to take interest in problems of Telangana. TDP workers in Telangana were worried about the party’s position in the state, after Chandrababu Naidu became Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

The TTDP leaders also feel that the recent bonhomie between KCR and Naidu was the reason for the AP Chief Minister not showing much interest in the campaign for GHMC elections. Though some efforts were made by Nara Lokesh to steer the party during the GHMC polls, he could not prove to be as effective as KTR who had shouldered the responsibility of TRS.

This has created a near panic situation among the rank and file. The fears of the MLAs who have quit TTDP are not unfounded as even the votes of Seemandhra people had shifted to TRS in the GHMC elections. For example the TTDP had lost about 15 per cent of votes in the GHMC elections in Sanatnagar division.

In 2014, Talsani Srinivas Yadav had won the Assembly seat on TDP ticket. But later he joined TRS and became minister for Commercial taxes. At that time the TRS had polled 23.26 per cent votes but now in the GHMC elections the vote percentage has gone up to 39 percent. The Sanatnagar assembly constituency has four divisions and in all four divisions TRS won.

The party insiders feel that since the TRS has created a wave in Sanathnagar, the possibility of minister for Commercial Taxes Talsani Srinivas Yadav winning the by election was bright. Many of the leaders feel that if the by election was held without much delay, Talsani may win more because of the wave the pink party had created during the GHMC elections than his personal image. But sources point out that the by election may not be held till the elections to Warangal and Khammam municipalities were over.