HYDERABAD: With the central government planning to give NRIs an opportunity to participate in the country's election process, the Telugu Desam party launched online membership for them on Tuesday.
Party president N Chandrababu Naidu launched the drive at NTR Bhavan.
TDP is the first party in the country to launch online enrolment of members, party sources claim.
"The prime minister has said recently that NRIs will get voting rights.
In tune with that the TDP has launched online membership for NRIs," Naidu said.
If the NRIs do not get voting right, then they will remain as committed workers of the TDP.
Within an hour of the portal launch around 120 people across the globe took membership of the party.
TDP conducted the drive on a trial basis in the last two days and around 250 persons became members by paying Rs 50.
Several Telugus from Florida, Texas, New York, California, Singapore, Germany, Sweden, Ireland and Ukraine applied for the party's membership.
“The membership fee for NRIs and Telugus living in other states in the country is the same at Rs 50, but NRIs should pay Rs 50 extra and people living in India Rs 30 extra if they want to receive membership ID cards by post,'' Naidu said and called upon the educated youth and intellectuals from the state too to enrol online as TDP members.
Payment can be made through a secured gateway of payment _ CCAvenue.