TDP’s political space shrinks, BJP to benefit

Suresh Dharur

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The grand plans of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) headed by N Chandrababu Naidu to emerge as a national party before the 2019 General Election has hit a roadblock with the 34-year-old regional player facing a crisis in its backyard.

Even as the leadership is drawing up plans for expanding its footprint to the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, it is confronted with a paradox back home in the wake of rapid erosion of the party’s base in Telangana, once considered its stronghold. There is no stopping the exodus of its leaders to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

Twelve MLAs have crossed over to the TRS in recent times, reducing the TDP’s strength in the 119-member Telangana Legislative Assembly to three. The party’s floor leader in the Assembly, E Dayakar Rao, too has switched over to the ruling camp. The breakaway faction has since merged with the TRS.  

The irony is that the BJP,  which is TDP’s tenuous ally in Andhra Pradesh, is likely to occupy the political space vacated by it in Telangana. With the Congress nearly decimated and TDP’s traditional support base fast eroding, the saffron party is making all-out efforts to emerge as a formidable force in the new state.

“Telangana is our best bet in the South after Karnataka.The people of Telangana know that we were the first political party to have promised a separate state way back in 1999. We will alter the political equations before the next elections,” said Dr K Lakshman, the newly appointed president of the Telangana BJP unit and a two-time city MLA.

The TDP leaders admit that the regional party, which once held sway over Telangana with a strong and committed cadre, is fast becoming irrelevant, post-bifurcation. “Sadly, the people look at the TDP as a party that had blocked the formation of Telangana,” said Dayakar Rao.

Ties under strain

The BJP, which now has five MLAs and an MP from Telangana, is keen on strengthening its base at the grassroots.The BJP-TDP relationship in Andhra Pradesh is under considerable strain over the issue of ‘special category’ status to the truncated state.The NDA government’s assertion that it would not be possible to grant ‘special category’ status to any state in future has widened the gulf between the two parties.

Though Naidu, whose party is part of the NDA government, has not made any public comment on the future of his political equation with the saffron party, sources close to him say that he is extremely upset with the “non-cooperative” attitude of the Centre.

Being a crucial NDA ally, the TDP faces a political embarrassment for having failed to convince the BJP central leadership about the need to bail out the cash-strapped state.

 Kabali connection

In the opening scene of the blockbuster “Kabali”, superstar Rajinikanth is shown reading a book “My Father Balaiah,” the English translation of “Maa Naayana Balaiah” written by a retired chemistry professor from Telangana Prof Satyanarayana.

Soon after the movie’s release amid, the septuagenarian author has been receiving a flood of calls, congratulating him and enquiring about the book. The autobiographical book, released in 2011, recalls the trials and tribulations of his Dalit family in Telangana. 

“I got the idea of scripting the saga of my family when I went to the US to spend some time with my grandchildren who are far removed from the social realities of Telangana’s Dalit society. I wanted to write the struggles of a family which spanned four generations,” Satyanarayana, who belongs to the “Madiga” community, said.

Kabali’s director Pa Ranjith also called up the author and praised his book. “I feel honoured that my book got introduced to millions of viewers across the world,” Satyanarayana said.  

Biopic on Naidu

A biopic is being planned on the life of N Chandrababu Naidu, the reforms-savvy Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministe. Titled Chandrodayam (Moonrise), the film seeks to portray Naidu (66) as an inspirational figure credited with putting Hyderabad on the global IT map during his nine-year tenure as CM of the undivided state Andhra Pradesh during 1995-2004. It also showcases his ongoing efforts to build a world-class capital city, Amaravathi, for the truncated AP.  

The shooting is expected to start on August 4 at Ongole in the coastal district of Prakasam with Deputy Chief Minister N Chinna Rajappa giving the ‘muhurat’ clap.The shooting will take place in Ongole, Vijayawada, Amalapuram, Yanam and Hyderabad and is expected to be completed by October. The film will hit the screens by the year-end, the director Pasupuleti Venkata Ramana said.

Corporator of the ruling Telugu Desam Party from Vijayawada K Mallikharjuna Yadav is the film producer. Naidu’s character will not figure as a protagonist. His life story will unfold through four journalists.