By IANS,
Hyderabad : Andhra Pradesh’s main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will step out of the state’s borders for the first time when it contests the local body elections in Andaman and Nicobar Islands this month.
The party is contesting municipal and panchayat elections scheduled to be held on Sep 19.
TDP’s politburo member K. Yerran Naidu and its leader in the legislative council D. Veerabhadra Rao were campaigning for the party in Port Blair, said TDP media committee chairman L.V.S.R.K. Prasad.
TDP is contesting in 10 of 18 wards of the Port Blair Municipal Council. The wards where it has fielded its candidates have a significant chunk of Telugus.
A large number of people from north coastal Andhra Pradesh are settled in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. People from Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts migrated to the islands in the 1950s and 1960s in search of livelihood.
Yerran Naidu said TDP had set up its unit in the islands to fight for the rights of Telugus. He said the people living there for decades had no access to even basic amenities and the rulers there were neglecting them.
The former union minister promised that his party would raise the issues of the people of the islands in parliament. He also assured the people that TDP would fight for a flight from Andaman to Hyderabad via Visakhapatnam.
The TDP’s move is being seen as an attempt to get the status of a national party. It also comes in the backdrop of growing demand for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to carve out separate Telangana state.
TDP leaders in Telangana, who support the demand for separate statehood to the region, have stated that in the event of Andhra Pradesh’s bifurcation, TDP will continue to have its existence in both the states.
The party was founded by popular film actor N.T. Rama Rao in 1982 on the slogan of Telugu self-respect. NTR created a record by coming to power within nine months after formation of the party.