TDP to sit it out in Telangana Lok Sabha polls

The Telugu Desam Party has decided not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Telangana, and the beleaguered party is yet to take a call on whom to support in the state, though it is part of the NDA in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, a senior leader of the party said.

TDP spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagari, however, said the TDP will resume its political innings by contesting the local body polls, expected to be held in June or July this year.

"Though we are part of the NDA, we are not contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Telangana.The decision on whom to support in the upcoming polls in Telangana will be taken by the party's senior leadership. As of now, there is no instruction on that," she told PTI.

The political journey of the TDP's has been passing through rough weather for the past few years, and the situation worsened after TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was arrested by Andhra Pradesh police in a graft case.

Following his arrest, the party decided not to contest the assembly polls in Telangana held on November 30 last year, prompting its state president, Ksanai Gnaneswar, to desert TDP and join former Chief Minister K Chandrasekahr Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) before the polls.

Since then, the party in Telangana has become headless and has been fraught with the desertions of several leaders and cadres. The TDP, which managed to win two seats in the 2018 Assembly polls in Telangana, polled 3.51 per cent of votes. It had a pre-poll pact with Congress and the CPI then.

As the TDP did not contest the polls last year, other parties wooed its leaders and pocketed its vote pie in the assembly polls.

Replying to a query, Tirunagari said there were no official instructions on whom to support in the 2023 assembly polls in Telangana. The choice of support was left to the local leadership, and they took decisions as per the prevailing conditions in their respective constituencies.

"Appointing a president to the Telangana unit of the party will be decided in Mahanadu (the TDP's annual conclave)," the TDP leader said.