Fall and Fall of TDP Under Naidu’s Leadership

Things started going downhill for the Telugu Desam Party after its leader Chandrababu Naidu was arrested and sent to jail in the Skill Development Corporation scam, involving a staggering sum of Rs 371 crore of government funds. 

When the delegation led by TDP Telangana president Kasani Gnaneshwar visited Naidu in jail, he asked Kasani to stay away from Telangana assembly polls. Subsequently, the TDP joined hands with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party to consolidate the votes and now the party has brought BJP on board which resulted in a tripartite poll pact. 

During this time, the key opposition party lost a large part of ground to its coalition partners. Now that the TDP is going to the assembly and lok sabha polls in the state with two allies, it remains to be seen whether their coming together will translate into votes and win for the party as YSRCP is holding the fort in all 175 assembly constituencies. 

After eight-hour-long talks among the leaders of the NDA constituents at Naidu’s residence at Undavalli, the TDP agreed to leave 31 out of 175 Assembly seats and eight out of 25 Lok Sabha seats for its two allies. As per the tripartite agreement reached, TDP will contest 144 Assembly and 17 Lok Sabha seats, Jana Sena will field its candidates in 21 Assembly seats and 2 Lok Sabha seats while BJP was given 10 Assembly seats, 6 Lok Sabha seats. 

TDP appears to have accepted its failure even before the exam (polling)  by leaving 31 seats and 8 Lok Sabha seats to its allies. The party has said it will contest 144 assembly seats and 17 parliament seats only in the forthcoming elections in the state. 

The TDP’s dominance in the state has been in a steep decline for quite some time. It started with 2019 AP assembly polls when the YSRCP confined it to 23 seats in state assembly. Anticipating a humiliating defeat and its ripple effect on upcoming Andhra Pradesh elections, Naidu stayed away from Telangana assembly elections and now to stop the party’s base from further erosion, the TDP entered into a pre-poll pact with two other parties. 

Also Read: #JusticeForGeethanjali Trends: Woman Loses Life Due to TDP’s Social Media Harassment!