The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Telangana remains thorny for TDP

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Telangana remains thorny for TDP

Special Correspondent

Contentious issue refuses to die down even after a week of poll results

T.Srinivas Yadav, G.Sayanna feel that party made a tactical mistake by aligning with TRS
Errabelli Dayakar Rao argues that the
pro-Telangana sentiment still prevalent

HYDERABAD: Almost a week after the election outcome, the separate Telangana issue has turned out to be a bugbear for the TDP leadership with some defeated candidates openly finding fault with the decision to play on the sentiment factor and go with the TRS.

Even as these candidates like Talasani Srinivas Yadav and G. Sayanna, who were defeated from Secunderabad and Secunderabad Cantonment, respectively, argue in retrospect that the party’s decision damaged their prospects, the other group of seniors such as Erabelli Dayakar Rao, who won from Palakurthi in Warangal, have a contrasting argument.

Mr. Yadav and Mr. Sayanna feel that the party made a tactical mistake by aligning with the pro-Telangana outfit at a time when the sentiment was nowhere to be seen and a sense of fear was palpable among those who had settled down in Hyderabad and the neighbouring districts.

Scared

Some of those in these districts who have prospered from the real estate boom till a few months ago too were scared of the prospect of the Grand Alliance coming to power. This has worked against the TDP.

Mr. Yadav argued on similar lines much before the elections and favoured a stand for an integrated State, but fell in line when the party took a pro-Telangana policy and included it in its manifesto.

This happened after a strong lobby led by Mr. Dayakar Rao and Mr Kadiam Srihari, built pressure on the leadership.

TRS blamed

Disagreeing with Mr. Yadav, Mr.Dayakar Rao contends that the sentiment favouring separate Telangana was still there and recalls that the party’s best performance was in the region.

However, he concedes that the TRS could not put up a good show and that it had to be blamed for its own internal problems.

He feels there should not be any rethinking on the issue. This tussle between pro and anti-Telangana sentiment groups has been going for the last few days much to the chagrin of the leadership which is trying hard to come to terms from the reverses the party had suffered in the elections.

This wrangling was one reason why the party president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, called upon the party men at the TDLP meeting on Thursday to avoid speaking on the issue as the ball was now in the Congress court.

But the issue fails to die down and it could cast a shadow on the Mahanadu.

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