Why is TDP not taking GHMC polls seriously?

VIJAYAWADA: After facing a humiliating debacle in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections held last time despite party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh, who is also the general secretary of the party, making a whirlwind campaigning, the TDP seems to be not taking the ongoing elections seriously. 

Even as Naidu recently announced the party’s Central committee and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana units, TDP sources informed that party entrusted the whole task — from selection of candidates and campaigning in the GHMC elections — with the TDP Telangana leadership. 

Though the BJP and Congress are roping in national leaders to campaign for the party candidates for the elections to the prestigious municipal corporation, the TDP Central Committee leaders hailing from Andhra Pradesh say that they have not received any instructions from the party leadership to participate in the electioneering in Hyderabad.  

“Apart from Naidu and Lokesh, several TDP leaders from Andhra Pradesh camped in Hyderabad in the last elections held in 2016 and sweated it out for the victory of the party candidates. This time around also, the TDP is fielding candidates. However, we have not received any directions from the party leadership to participate in the campaigning,” a senior TDP leader told TNIE.

“Despite having a few MLA seats in Hyderabad and undertaking an intensive campaign in the 2016 GHMC elections, we have limited to a single seat out of the total 150 divisions. So, this time the party has decided to focus on the divisions where it has a strong base instead of covering all the divisions,’’ another party leader said.

Focus is on AP
One TDP leader said: “As we have lost the power in Andhra Pradesh and we have kept our focus here rather than Telangana and all our efforts in the neighbouring state may be considered as a struggle for existence of the party”