TDP to go solo in Telangana assembly polls

HYDERABAD: The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will go it alone in the Telangana assembly elections slated to be held in November-December this year.

TDP National President N. Chandrababu Naidu has made it clear that his party will not have alliance with anyone in Telangana.

The TDP had contested the 2018 elections in alliance with the Congress and the Left parties. The TDP bagged only two seats and both the MLAs later defected to the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

There were doubts in political circles if TDP would contest the polls in Telangana. During an informal chat with media persons in New Delhi on Tuesday, Naidu clarified that the party will contest the elections on its own.

“The time is over,” the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister remarked when asked if TDP would have an alliance with the BJP in Telangana.

The party, however, has not yet decided if it will field candidates in all 119 assembly constituencies or in a limited number of segments. Naidu said the party has formed a committee to take a decision in this regard.

When asked if TDP would have alliance with other parties in Andhra Pradesh, Naidu said alliance would be based on need.

The TDP President on Monday had a brief chat with BJP President J. P. Nadda during the release of a commemorative coin by the President Droupadi Murmu to mark the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP founder N. T Rama Rao’s centenary celebrations.

Naidu had also held talks with Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in June. They reportedly discussed reviving their alliance.

In 2018, the TDP had snapped ties with the BJP, accusing it of going back on its promise to accord special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

The TDP lost power in Andhra Pradesh to YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in 2019.

Jana Sena Party (JSP) leader and actor Pawan Kalyan is keen to forge an alliance with both TDP and BJP to take on YSRCP in the next year’s elections.