By IANS,
Hyderabad : “This defeat is only temporary” – with these words Thursday Junior NTR, popular Telugu actor and grandson of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder N.T. Rama Rao, tried to lift the spirits of the party cadre reeling under the crushing defeat in assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Junior NTR participated in the second and final day’s deliberations at Mahanadu or the state-level conclave here and tried to boost the sagging morale of the cadres by reminding them that NTR did not form the party for the sake of power.
“No matter whether we are in power or in opposition, we should commit ourselves to serving people. NTR formed the party to serve people and not to achieve power,” he said.
The presence of Junior NTR and Balakrishna, another popular actor and NTR’s son, brought some cheers to the otherwise gloomy TDP camp on the occasion of NTR’s 86th birth anniversary.
This was the first public appearance for the two actors after TDP’s defeat in the polls. They had actively participated in the party’s election campaign.
Junior NTR, who has an uncanny resemblance to his legendary grandfather, was the star campaigner of the party. However, he met with a road accident during the campaign and could not cover most parts of the state.
Addressing the delegates, Junior NTR asked the cadres not to get disheartened by the defeat and recalled the words of NTR that the party should continue serving the poor irrespective of whether it is in power or in opposition.
The young actor said great personalities like NTR were defeated in elections but they continued their struggle. “This defeat is only temporary. If we continue our struggle, success will be ours,” he told the cadres.
The TDP won 92 assembly seats in the 294-member house and bagged only six out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
This is the first time since TDP’s formation in 1982 that the party is sitting in the opposition for the second consecutive term.
Meanwhile, TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu dissolved all state and district-level committees of the party. The party conclave passed a resolution, authorising him to reconstitute the committees.