Hari, Ummareddy, Dayakar skip TDP politburo meet

VV Balakrishna
Express News Service
Last Updated : 05 May 2012 08:40:49 AM IST

HYDERABAD: The main opposition party in the state, Telugu Desam, hopes to win at least six of the 18 Assembly seats and has good chances of winning two more in the byelections to be held on June 12.

The optimism came to the fore at the party's Politburo meeting which was held here on Friday.

While the meeting was in progress, the news of Ummareddy Venkateswarlu abstaining from it was flashed on TV channels. Ummareddy attributed his absence to denial of party membership and alleged that there was no social justice in the Telugu Desam. But the Politburo said any programme, including membership drive, would be taken up after the approval of the Politburo. A Politburo member had not only to supervise the enrolment drive but also to enrol himself, said a leader, laying the blame on Ummareddy.

N Harikrishna, Uppuleti Kalpana,  E Dayakar Rao and Ummareddy Venkateswarlu did not attend the meeting. Harikrishna has differences with Naidu. He has been irregular in attending the party meetings. Kalpana is said to be  abroad. But, according to rumour mills, she may also defect to the YSRCP. Dayakar Rao is busy with election campaigning in Parakala. As for Ummareddy, he has already decided to quit the party and join hands with Jagan.

According to sources, the party felt that it would be a big task for the Congress and YSR Congress Party  to retain their seats. Winning at least one seat would be a big gain for the TDP, the Politburo felt. All the 18 seats were held by the Congress and 17 of them joined the Jagan camp and resigned, necessitating the byelections. As suc, the byelections will be a challenge to the Congress and its offshoot. The TDP, on the other hand, has nothing to lose and is not considering the bypolls as a referendum.

Even if the YSRCP wins some seats, the victory margins will not be high because of the triangle fight.

However, the TDP concedes that the YSRCP may ride the sympathy wave since it will be the first election after the death of YS Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash in 2009. But the sympathy may not last or work in the 2014 general election, the opposition party felt.

According to TDP estimate, the party has bright chances in Payakaraopet, Polavaram, Prattipadu, Narsannapet, Rayachoti, Tirupati, Rayadurgam and Yemmiganur. If the Congress votes are divided between the Congress and YSRCP, the TDP might win the Ongole seat. The party has never lost Payakaraopet since 1983 till 2004, a TDP leader said and it would be a sure seat for the TDP this time too. The tussle between the Dharmana brothers in Narasannapet will help the TDP, it hopes.

The Politburo also discussed recent desertions from the party to YSRCP. But several leaders were of the opinion that Jagan was causing damage more to the Congress. "We have to take measures so that no TDP leader will be wooed by YSRCP,"  party president N Chandrababu Naidu, who chaired the meeting, said.

The Politburo decided to postpone the Mahanadu, which is normally conducted from May 27 to 29, to July due to the byelections. The party cadre, busy with campaigning, would be disturbed if Mahanadu was held in May, the sources said, adding that the schedule of Mahandu would be finalised after the bypolls  in June.