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The Telugu Desam Party (transl. Party of the Telugu Land;[13] abbr. TDP) is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.[14] It was founded by the former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao (N.T.R.) on 29 March 1982 and has focused on supporting Telugu speakers. The party has won a five-time majority in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and has emerged as the most successful political outfit in the state's history. It is currently the main opposition party in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.[15][16]
From 1 September 1995, the TDP was led by N. T. Rama Rao's son-in-law and the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Nara Chandra Babu Naidu as national president of the party. The headquarters of the party is called N. T. R. Bhavan, which is located at Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh.
Ideology and symbolism
The Telugu Desam Party follows a pro-Telugu ideology. It was founded as an alternative to the Congress hegemony, by emphasizing Telugu regional pride and serving as the party for farmers, backward castes and middle-class people. Since the 1990s, it has followed an economically liberal policy that has been seen as pro-business and pro-development.[3]
The TDP uses yellow as the background colour for the flag with a hut, wheel and plough symbol in the foreground. The party's official symbol is a bicycle.
Health insurance scheme
Since 2014, every active member has been eligible for a life insurance policy of ₹2 lakh to be paid to their family in cases of death or permanent total disability, such as the loss of two limbs of eyes, due to accidents, with additional payouts of ₹5,000 per child (up to two) for educational costs. Active members are also reimbursed for up to ₹50,000 to cover hospital treatment from such accidents.[17]
History
N. T. Rama Rao era (1983–1995)
As a film actor, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR) is a well-known name not only to the Telugu people but also to the entire country. On 18 November 1977, near Diviseema[18] in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, the sea became turbulent and the Pralaya cyclone that crossed the coast at once caused great destruction to the villages. Thousands of people lost their lives in Horugali and Rakasi waves. The rotting bodies were mass cremated. Officially 14,204 people and unofficially about 50,000 lost their lives in the devastation caused by this typhoon. About 20 thousand acres of crops were damaged. Apart from this, property damage is also estimated to be in crores. People still get excited when they remember that Diviseema was flooded. Film actor NTR, who was shocked by the situation at that time, took the support of the entire film industry by saying that he should stand by the people of Divisea. NTR came to streets and begged everyone to help the Divisema people. The money donated by people was used to rehabilitate the people of Diviseema.
TDP party was founded thinking that we should stand by the people of the state who are struggling with many such problems and put a political party to stand by the people. The party was formed on 29 March 1982 and contested the 1983 elections. The people of Andhra Pradesh, who were fed up with the Congress government which had been ruling for 36 years, gave a great victory to the TDP party in the 1983 elections. On 9 January 1983, NTR was sworn in as the 7th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.[19]
On 16 August 1984, when NTR went to America for the operation, Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, one of the MLAs of the TDP party, took the oath of office with the Governor along with his MLAs as the Chief Minister.[20] On 16 September 1984, NTR along with his MLAs went to Delhi and held a march and dharna against the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Then NTR was once again sworn in as the Chief Minister.
N. Chandrababu Naidu era (1995–present)
 |
Telangana Faction (2014–present)
After the formation of Telangana, TDP, in alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), fought the 2014 Legislative Assembly election. TDP won 15 seats in the newly formed Telangana Legislative Assembly.[21] TDP also won a Lok Sabha seat from Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency in the simultaneously held 2014 Indian general election.[22][23]
In the 2016 Hyderabad civic polls, TDP won one councillor seat out of 150 seats.[24] In the 2018 Telangana Legislative Assembly election, TDP won two seats in the 119-member state Assembly, both the seats in Khammam district. It had contested the 2018 assembly elections in an alliance with Indian National Congress and other parties under the Praja Kutami.[25]
After the bifurcation, the party created two separate state units for both Telugu states. L. Ramana was appointed as the first president of the Telangana unit of TDP in 2015 and served till 19 July 2021. In July 2021, Telangana TDP appointed Bakkani Narasimhulu as the president.[26]
In November 2022, Kasani Gnaneshwar Mudiraj, a former MLC and BC leader, was appointed as the president of Telangana TDP by N. Chandrababu Naidu.[27] Kasani, who served as the MLC from undivided Andhra Pradesh, has served as the national president of Mudiraj Mahasabha and had a good hold in the BC community. Under his leadership, the party sees revival in the state and has started actively participating in various public gatherings and rallies in Telangana.[28][29][30]
However, Mudiraj resigned as Telangana TDP president as well as his party membership on 30 October 2023, after TDP supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu announced that the party would not contest the Telangana polls. The party's Telangana unit has been left leaderless since then.[31]
Activities
On 21 December 2022, the party organized a large public gathering in Khammam district of Telangana to re-energize the party cadre.[32][33] It was attended by TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and TTDP president Kasani Gnaneshwar Mudiraj. A huge crowd attended the gathering held at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Khammam.[34] While addressing the gathering, Chandrababu Naidu appealed to those who quit the party to join other political parties to return to regain the party's past glory.[35] After 2018, it was the first time that TDP organized a show of strength in Telangana.[36][37]
Election history
Lok Sabha election history
The total number of Lok Sabha seats in (previously undivided) Andhra Pradesh (1956-2014) was 42. After the 2014 bifurcation of the state, there are 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana. The National United Front was formed with N. T. Rama Rao as chairperson. Under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu the NDA government was formed with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Prime Minister of India. The TDP had G. M. C. Balayogi as the 12th Speaker of the Lok Sabha. TDP was the second largest party in 1984 Indian General Elections, winning 30 seats with 4.31% of votes, thus achieving the distinction of becoming the first regional party to become a national opposition party. However, in the next election they were reduced to only two seats out of 42 contested, which has to this day remained the biggest defeat for the party.
| Year | Lok Sabha | Party leader | Seats won | Change in seats | Percentage of votes | Vote swing | Popular vote | Outcome | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 8th | N. T. Rama Rao | 30 / 543
|
 30
|
4.31% |  new
|
10,132,859 | Opposition | [38] |
| 1989 | 9th | 2 / 543
|
 28
|
3.29% | 1.02%
|
9,909,728 | Others | [39] | |
| 1991 | 10th | 13 / 543
|
11
|
2.99% | 0.30
|
8,223,271 | [40] | ||
| 1996 | 11th | N. Chandrababu Naidu | 16 / 543
|
3
|
2.97% | 0.02
|
9,931,826 | [41] | |
| 1998 | 12th | 12 / 543
|
4
|
2.77% | 0.20
|
10,199,463 | Government | [42] | |
| 1999 | 13th | 29 / 543
|
17
|
3.65% | 0.88
|
13,297,370 | [43] | ||
| 2004 | 14th | 5 / 543
|
24
|
3.04% | 0.61
|
11,844,811 | Others | [44] | |
| 2009 | 15th | 6 / 543
|
1
|
2.51% | 0.53
|
10,481,659 | [45] | ||
| 2014 | 16th | 16 / 543
|
10
|
2.55% | 0.04
|
14,099,230 | Government | [46] | |
| 2019 | 17th | 3 / 543
|
13
|
2.04% | 0.51
|
12,515,345 | Others |
State legislative assembly elections
| Year | Assembly | Party leader | Seats contested | Seats won | Change in seats | Percentage of votes | Vote swing | Popular vote | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 14th | N. Chandrababu Naidu | 160 | 102 / 175
|
102
|
44.9% | new
|
12,916,000 | Government |
| 2019 | 15th | 175 | 23 / 175
|
79
|
39.17% | 5.73
|
12,304,668 | Opposition | |
| 2024 | 16th | N.
Chandrababu Naidu |
144 |
| Year | Assembly | Party leader | Seats contested | Seats won | Change in seats | Percentage of votes | Vote swing | Popular vote | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 1st | N. Chandrababu Naidu | 72 | 15 / 119
|
15
|
14.7% | new
|
2,828,492 | Others |
| 2018 | 2nd | 13 | 2 / 119
|
13
|
3.51% | 11.19
|
725,714 |
| Year | Assembly | Party leader | Seats contested | Seats won | Change in seats | Percentage of votes | Vote swing | Popular vote | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 7th | N. T. Rama Rao | 289 | 201 / 294
|
201
|
46.30% | new
|
45,072 | Government |
| 1985 | 8th | 250 | 202 / 294
|
1
|
46.21% | 0.09%
|
10,625,508 | ||
| 1989 | 9th | 241 | 74 / 294
|
127
|
36.54% | 9.67%
|
10,506,982 | Opposition | |
| 1994 | 10th | 251 | 216 / 294
|
142
|
44.14% | 7.60%
|
13,743,842 | Government | |
| 1999 | 11th | N. Chandrababu Naidu | 269 | 180 / 294
|
36
|
43.87% | 0.27%
|
14,613,307 | |
| 2004 | 12th | 267 | 47 / 294
|
133
|
37.59% | 6.28%
|
13,444,168 | Opposition | |
| 2009 | 13th | 225 | 92 / 294
|
45
|
28.12% | 9.47%
|
11,826,457 |
