Telugu Desam Party headed by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, which has virtually become defunct in Telangana, is once trying to become active ahead of the next assembly elections scheduled to be held in another 10 months.
Naidu, who revamped the Telangana TDP recently by appointing Kasani Gyaneshar Mudiraj as the new state president of the party, even addressed a huge rally at Khammam in December to prove the party’s existence in the state.
Analysts said Naidu is desperate to prove that the TDP is still relevant in Telangana and has its own vote bank. This, they said, would help the TDP offer a friendly hand to the BJP.
By helping the BJP in Telangana, Naidu wants to seek the support of the BJP in Andhra as part of a quid pro quo strategy.
The BJP, however, did not reciprocate Naidu’s gesture and has decided to keep the TDP at bay in the Telangana elections.
This was made clear by the BJP state president Bandi Sanjay at a meeting recently, saying any understanding with the TDP would only backfire on the BJP.
Having no other way, the TDP is now looking for alternative alliance partners. In one such latest attempt, the party has found an alliance partner in controversial political activist Teenmaar Mallanna.
On Thursday, Telangana TDP president Kasani Gyaneshwar had a long meeting with Teenmaar Mallanna and requested him to support the TDP in Telangana.
Apparently, Naidu had a talk with Mallanna over phone and requested him to work with the TDP in Telangana. He asked Gyaneshwar to join hands with Mallanna and both of them should work together to strengthen the party.
Interestingly, Teenmaar Mallanna had worked for the BJP in Huzurabad by-elections and helped Eatala Rajender win the election. Later, he distanced himself from the BJP.
It would be interesting to see how Mallanan would help the TDP in Telangana.