TDP to make inroads into TRS citadel

Hyderabad: Egged on by the success of his 'Rythu Porubata' that was completed so far in 19 districts of the State including eight Telangana districts, he sought to demonstrate the support base still being enjoyed by the party in the region by making inroads into the TRS strongholds.

'It is in a way the Yellow Flag march,' claimed a senior leader of the party from the district. 'We are one up,' he summed up the latest situation rather aptly.

The TDP, which has been dying out in the T region ever since TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao took up his fast demanding separate state, has been waiting for an opportunity to stage a political comeback.

What was once considered to be TDP stronghold had fast eroded and the party could not get even deposits in 2010 July by-elections for 12 constituencies in the region and had become the butt of attack from TRS and T Congress.

The cadre was disappointed and getting depleted forcing Naidu to take an aggressive political stance under the guise of Rytu Porubata. The incidents that were witnessed from Tarnaka in Hyderabad to Warangal failed to dampen the spirit of Naidu.

He was successful in his own way. He boldly proclaimed that he had got the responsibility of safeguarding the party interests and hence the yatra. The Rythu Porubata helped him in stirring up the cadres back into action.

The turnout at Palakurthy and other places in the district was huge and the party functionaries made a determined bid in making it a success. Naidu was all praise for the TDP MLAs and party functionaries from the district.

The TDP chief has drawn the inspiration from a sequence of events including the circumstances that bailed him out at least temporarily from the CBI probe into his assets.

With Y S Jaganmohan Reddy facing the CBI probe and his party still facing teething troubles, Naidu sees the threat from the YSRCP subdued. The Congress party also gave him enough confidence being the ultimate choice for power after 2014 hustling.

Naidu, a deft political schemer, was successful in reposing faith in his cadres once again. In fact, the political scenario had undergone marked change in the past three years.

The Chief Minister, N Kiran Kumar Reddy is still struggling to establish himself with his mark in the policies and programmes of the State government. But he has got a long way to go in this direction. The disillusionment in the Congress camps is palpable.

The mega star-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, who was considered to be a major threat to the TDP in 2009, is no longer a factor to be reckoned with. The euphoria created by him with the Praja Rajyam Party is on the wane.

The PRP, that could eat into the vitals of the TDP traditional Backward Class vote bank in the last elections, ceased to be a political entity.

What could lend the Telugu Desam Party and its leadership enough strength in the present political scenario is the fact that the people are no longer under the influence of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

His demise had left the Naidu's rival camp orphaned and he knows pretty well that it is beyond the scope of revival to the strength of either 2004 or 2009.

The confusion over the implementation of the schemes and programmes of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy still persists.

In the event of an election, it is going to be a triangular fight involving the Congress, TDP and YSR Congress in Seemandhra region. But when it comes to Telangana, the TDP had for quite some time been at the receiving end.

With seven of the total 39 MLAs from Telangana quitting in quick succession, it had received a major setback in the region. The party found it difficult to put up a candidate in the Banswada by-elections last year.

It is a do or die situation for the TDP president as well as all its chief functionaries from the region to arrest the exodus and re-establish its place of eminence.

Hence they had gone to the extent of retaliating to the attacks, a trend that started in Mahabubnagar district sometime last year.

The TDP is fully geared up to beat back attacks from either the TRS or any other political party for that matter and making Naidu's padayatra a success.

By venturing into the troubled waters of Warnagal, Naidu seemed to have drawn the party cadres into lot more trouble than what they could handle.

But as the observers claim, the TDP must be thankful to the large scale deployment of police forces which ensured a safe passage of his entourage to the district.

With the party's mood being upbeat, the TDP will now continue its attack on TRS and Congress and has also decided to contest all the elections from local bodies to the by-elections.

The party leadership feels that if they won, it would be the beginning of return of TDP in the region.

Even if they did not win, but succeed in reducing the victory margin of TRS, it would be a great morale booster for the party to bounce back by the time 2014 elections take place.