Who is going to be the star campaigner of Telugu Desam Party in the ensuing polls to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The party avoided wisely the campaign in Warangal, the hardcore T area, by allocating the LS seat to ally BJP. But it can’t do so in Hyderabad. As the party did not find Warangal an important seat for it, the TDP did not send any star campaigner to the Lok Sabha constituency in the just concluded byelections, where it’s ally BJP forfeited deposit. The humiliated drubbing clearly shows the predicament the party thrown into post bifurcation. The GHMC election is a most critical test. It is the last opportunity for TDP to prove its relevance in Telangana politics. Any mishap in the GHMC polls would be giving an impression that TDP is redundant in the new state.
Also, the TDP leadership has to undo the damage the TRS has done by engineering party MLAs defection to the ruling party. So, T-TDP should win the GHMC polls or at least emerge as main Opposition party for its survival in the state. This needs a star campaigner and one can expect that party sends a star campaigner for the GHMC polls to avoid one-side election as was witnessed in Warangal.
The question flashes across the mind is who is the party’s star campaigner. The party has two stars among its ranks- one is tested Chandrababu Naidu, and the other untested Nara Lokesh, his son. Chandrababu Naidu is now not simply a president of a regional party. With considerable presence in Telangana and a little presence in Andamans, the party is now a national party and Naidu is the president of a National party.
Since the GHMC poll, is a glorified local body election, Naidu, given his stature as national president, is unlikely to campaign in the ‘gullies’ of Hyderabad, standing by the side of a corporator, some argue. National party presidents, normally do not campaign in byelections and elections to the local bodies. The only option Left for him is deputing party national general secretary and ‘rising star’ of the party Lokesh Naidu to crisscross the lanes and bylanes of Hyderabad city in the next few weeks. According to party sources, the T-TDP leaders have been putting pressure on Chandrababu Naidu to campaign in Hyderabad by addressing three for four meetings in GHMC area. As Naidu is not inclined to stoop down to Municipal level, the leaders are said to have asked for campaign at least by Lokesh as the alternative.
The TDP is banking on the presence of large number of Seemandhra voters in Hyderabad and thinks that a leader like Naidu or his son alone can reassure them to back the party, which is being dubbed as Andhra Party by TRS. In the GHMC poll-preparatory meeting Naidu held with some important T-TDP leaders on Sunday, the TDP national president is said to have hinted at his inability to campaign in the GHMC polls. Naidu is said to have not responded to their request for Lokesh leadership in the polls, as the star campaigner. Lokesh has gained foot hold by addressing several meetings, interactive sessions and launching training camps of party cadre In Andhra Pradesh,. He is almost de facto chief minister in the state. As for Telangana, the ‘rising son’ is still a novice and not acquainted fully with the intricacies of Telangana politics driven by T-sentiment. Some sections are worried in the party that any backfire of Lokesh’s campaign may mar his future political program. So, Junior Naidu should not be allowed to campaign in the GHMC polls on the pretext that time is not ripe for his arrival on the scene, they argue.
The dilemma in the party is that whether to make Lokesh a star campaigner or not. Though the mood of Junior Naidu is not known yet, a senior leader of the party told ‘telugu360.com’ with hope that one of the two would be a star campaigner to instill confidence among the Seemandhra people. “Seemandhra have a considerable presence in GHMC area. None of them are happy with the division. They have already expressed their opposition to the division in 2014 election. Now, they will vote for TDP in GHMC polls to reiterate their will that they want to have a live link Andhra Pradesh by voting TDP. For this they need to be given a reassurance from Chandrababu Naidu or his son Lokesh Babu,” said a GHMC TDP leader.
