'Ghar Wapsi': Cashing in on TPCC infighting, TDP throws bait to rebel Congress leaders

Hyderabad: Seemingly trying to cash in on TPCC infighting, TDP has reached out to former colleagues, who have joined Congress, to return to the party fold. "If you feel disrespect in Congress, you can come back to Telugu Desam Party. We are ready to welcome you," TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu is reported to have told his former colleagues.

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister reportedly spoke to some of the former TDP leaders who are in Congress and discussed the political situation in Telangana. Naidu was in Hyderabad before leaving for Khammam. During the discussion with some confidants and advisors, Naidu said they fought the 2018 alliance together with Congress to defeat the family rule of K. Chandrashekar Rao. Though they lost, TDP performed well, he said.

He claimed that they have ideological voters in Telangana, especially in Hyderabad. "If 13 leaders, who resigned from Congress, want to return they're welcome. We consider them as a people's representative," he is reported to have said.

Congress sources confirmed that TDP has reached out to some leaders. "We were informed by TDP sources about Ghar Wapsi," a Congress leader who resigned from the PCC on Sunday said. Sources said if Ghar Wapsi happened in TDP, it will be a big jolt for Congress. Sources said TDP will bargain with BJP for alliance in both Telugu states. A senior Congress leader who recently joined BJP claimed that the party is also in touch with some Congress leaders.

"If the party high command failed to resolve the differences in TPCC, there is a possibility some leaders may join BJP and TDP. If AICC will not decide the fate of migrant leaders, they can look for other options," said a Congress source. Meanwhile, Naidu expressed confidence that the party restore its past glory back in Telangana. TDP supremo was speaking at the mammoth rally in Khammam.

Making it clear that he never strived for power, Naidu said that it is the TDP that introduced several welfare measures. Naidu said that he always worked with a vision of keeping a better future for the people of the two Telugu States.

"I have struggled to make Hyderabad an Information Technology (IT) corridor only with a view that the youth should get better employment thus earning more. Now, you all know the reality of how the youth in the Telugu States getting jobs not only in the country but across the globe," he said.

He said TDP always encouraged the Backward Classes (BCs) to come into politics. "It was the Late NT Rama Rao, who introduced several welfare measures like the Rs 2 a kg rice, subsidized power supply and housing for the poor, for the uplift of the downtrodden sections of society which helped them grow well," he said.

He said the leaders who had earlier deserted the TDP will soon come back. He expressed confidence that the Khammam meeting will again turn the TDP into a fighting force. "The people here are recalling the developmental works taken up during the TDP regime and this is a clear indication that they want the party to be back with flying colors," he said.