The Telugu Desam seems to have decided to corner the YSR Congress Party on the issue of state’s bifurcation by encouraging its Rayalaseema leaders to organise several programmes at the grass root level in the region.
As part of the TDP’s new strategy, its general secretary Byreddy Rajasekhara Reddy has come out openly demanding trifurcation of the state for protection of Rayalaseema rights and has launched a 96-hour fast in Kurnool which entered the second day on Sunday and is receiving people’s support.
After the impressive electoral performance of the YSRCP in the recent byelections, the TDP views Jagan as its main opponent in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. The party feels that if does not do its homework now, it will become difficult to face Jagan in the 2014 elections. Taking this into consideration, the party wants to allow its Rayalaseeam leaders to fight their own battles in their region.
According to its calculations, if the YSRCP maintains silence over the Rayalaseema agitation, it will help the TDP in the two regions to some extent.
Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu has already declared that the party will clarify its stance on the Telangana issue while Telangana TDP Forum leaders claimed that the party would submit a fresh letter to the Union Government on the issue.
But the party is likely to delay its letter on the pretext of the Rayalaseema agitation until the time when the situation becomes favourable to the party in the Telangana and Rayalaseema regions. The Congress and TRS leaders strongly oppose the Rayalaseema agitation to deny any political space for Naidu and Jagan in Telangana.
TRS Politburo member B.Vinod Kumar said that when the Centre was in a mood to take a decision on the Telangana, the TDP was encouraging demands and movements for trifurcation of the state. This was only to complicate the issue, he said. Congress MPr Ponnam Prabhakar is also critical of the agitation for state’s trifurcation.
Byreddy Rajasekhara Reddy has declared that he is not against formation of Telangana state if the Centre wants to carve it. In that case, the Centre should make Rayalaseema also a separate state, he said.