The TDP would be celebrating 40 years of its existence in three days from today. The party was formed on March 29, 1982 by late N T Rama Rao. The party came to power in just nine months and NTR formed the government on January 9, 1983.

TDP was the first non-Congress party that had formed the government in the state after 1956. TDP also played a key role in forming non-Congress governments at the Centre with NTR taking lead in the national politics.

TDP played a key role in the election of Prime Ministers and the Presidents of India for over two decades. It was first NTR and later Chandrababu Naidu who played an important role in the national politics with their base in Andhra Pradesh.

Chandrababu Naidu unveiled a new logo of the 40 years celebrations of the party the other day and set an year-long agenda for the rank and file of the party to celebrate the historic existence of the party.

After 40 years, the TDP is in a different situation both in national politics and in state politics. It has almost lost its presence in Telangana, while it is struggling for existence in Andhra Pradesh. The party was in power immediately after bifurcation of the state and it was at the helm in the residuary Andhra Pradesh.

But in five years, the fate had changed and the party lost its power facing humiliating defeat in the 2019 general elections. Irony is that the party lost badly in the local body elections right from the village panchayat to the zilla parishads and the urban local bodies.

The fate of the TDP would depend on the nature of the activities that the party is set to take up in Andhra Pradesh politics for the next two years. If the party is serious about coming back to power, it should focus on peoples’ issues rather than publicity oriented issues.