The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Telangana unit is not averse to joining hands with Congress in the State as it feels that their combined strength would pose a formidable challenge to TRS in the next elections.
The TDP-TS leadership has received communication from the Congress and the Communist Party of India (CPI) for possible tie up in the next elections.
The party received indications that the Congress has decided to constitute a three-men committee to hold negotiations in this regard.
A final decision on the issue would likely be announced by party president N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is slated to address the TDP Telangana unit’s general body meeting on Saturday. “Clinching the deal will be to the advantage of the two parties. The Congress appears to be clear in favour of the cooperation and we will take a call from our side on Saturday,” a TDP polit bureau member told The Hindu.
The proposal to tie-up with the Congress was, however, said to be opposed by a section of leaders from Andhra Pradesh on the grounds that the party has to do a lot of explaining to people about the rationale behind such arrangement as the TDP was founded on an anti-Congress plank.
Strong presence
A day after the TRS dissolved the Legislative Assembly and set the stage for advancement of elections, the TDP-TS has commenced the exercise of identifying the areas where it has strong presence. It has identified at least 40 segments where it has votes in excess of 30,000 that could decide the fate of the election. The TDP, in association with the BJP, won 20 seats securing 22% votes in the previous elections held during the peak of separate Statehood movement.
The party had won 15 seats on its own and the BJP had won five seats as part of the alliance and the alliance’s candidates were in second place in some constituencies, especially in the neighbouring Ranga Reddy and Nalgonda districts. The TDP-TS has identified close to 40 constituencies where it lacks leadership as its leaders switched loyalties to the TRS or Congress subsequently.
The initial assessment by the party, however, revealed that the cadre remained with the party in spite of the migration of leaders as was evident from the number of people who enrolled as active members during Mahanadu, conducted in May this year.