Has Telugu Desam Party become a sinking ship in Telangana? This question assumed importance in the wake of many party legislators from Telangana seem to be seriously considering to jump the board for greener pastures.
There is no denial of the fact that Telangana Chief Minister TRS President K. Chandrashekar Rao is diligently planning to “wipe out” TDP from the Telangana map. Already some senior leaders of the yellow brigade seem to have been mesmerized by the overtures of the pink party.
Even before the TDP president and AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu could recover from the jolt given by senior party leader from Khammam district Nama Nageshwar Rao, who had jumped into the TRS, the clandestine meetings of many legislators with KCR of late has become an unbearable headache for him.
The TDP supremo has taken aback recently when senior party legislator from Warangal district, Erraballi Dayakar Rao, had a late night clandestine meeting with KCR. Though Dayakar Rao denied in the beginning about his meeting KCR, later he confirmed it but asserted that there was no question of he deserting the TDP and reiterated his loyalty to Chandrababu Naidu.
It is pertinent to note here that Dayakar Rao and Kadiam Srihari, who defected to TRS from TDP and got elected as MP from Warangal, have been crossing swords with each other ever since. The TRS MP had even cautioned KCR not to encourage Dayakar Rao after having come to know about the TDP legislator’s meeting with the TRS chief.
Interestingly, Dayakar Rao and Srihari were engaged in a heated exchange at the Warangal Zilla Parishad meeting when the latter tried to corner the former about his telephone talk regarding jumping into TRS. Even as Chandrababu Naidu was trying to initiate damage control measures to save the party in Telangana, he got yet another jolt by a few other party legislators from the GHMC area by embracing the ruling party.
Former minister and TDP legislator from Sanathnagar constituency Talasani Srinivas Yadav called on KCR on Monday last triggering off fresh speculations about his planning to join TRS. However, Srinivas Yadav clarified that he had called on the Telangana Chief Minister to invite him to inaugurate some housing programs in his constituency on the occasion of Dussehra and also to invite him to his daughter’s engagement ceremony.
Meanwhile, former Mayor and Maheshwaram TDP legislator Teegala Krishna Reddy also seems to be seriously considering to join TRS and had even convened a meeting of his supporters in his constituency to take their views in this regard.
Since the GHMC elections are likely to be held shortly, the TRS, which is very weak in the city and has no hold in the corporation, seems to be anxious to strengthen its cadre as well as its hold in the corporation. Thus keeping this in view the pink party seems to be diligently moving its strategy to attract leaders belonging to the TDP as many seem to be anxious to abandon the “Cycle” and ride the “Car” at the earliest. (NSS)