The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has opted out of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in Telangana, indicating uncertainty regarding which party to support in the state, despite its affiliation with the NDA in neighboring Andhra Pradesh. A senior party leader revealed this stance. TDP spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagari noted that the party plans to re-engage in politics through participation in the upcoming local body elections, anticipated to take place in June or July this year.
Though we are part of the NDA, we are not contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Telangana.The decision on whom to support in the upcoming polls in Telangana will be taken by the party’s senior leadership. As of now, there is no instruction on that, she told PTI.
The TDP's political trajectory has been tumultuous in recent years, with the situation exacerbating following the arrest of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu by Andhra Pradesh police in a corruption case. Subsequently, the party opted out of contesting the assembly elections in Telangana, which took place on November 30 last year. This decision led to its state president, Ksanai Gnaneswar, abandoning the TDP to join the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led by former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao prior to the polls.
Since then, the party in Telangana has become headless and has been fraught with the desertions of several leaders and cadres. The TDP, which managed to win two seats in the 2018 Assembly polls in Telangana, polled 3.51 per cent of votes. It had a pre-poll pact with Congress and the CPI then.