The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), led by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, has announced its support for the candidature of NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu for the post of President of India. Party sources said the decision was taken to lend support to Murmu, as she would be the first tribal woman President of India.
Earlier, Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy too had announced the ruling YSRCP’s support for Murmu. “It is a good sign that a person from a tribal community, that too a woman, has been nominated for the President's post for the first time in the history of independent India. Hence, the YSRC extends its support to her,” a release from the Chief Minister’s Office had said.
The TDP had made an exit from the NDA in 2017 when it was in power in Andhra Pradesh, on the grounds that the state was not awarded the special category status, a key demand during the bifurcation of the state for the formation of Telangana. Since facing a huge loss in the 2019 Assembly and General elections in the state, however, Naidu has often spoken in favour of BJP leaders and has also spoken out in favour of the BJP’s ally in the state, Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party. Occasionally, there has been speculation that TDP might move back into the fold of the NDA. However, the BJP in Andhra Pradesh has said it is not inclined to form an alliance with TDP.
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Droupadi Murmu is expected to visit Vijayawada this week to seek support for the July 18 poll to elect the President. She is visiting various states to garner support from lawmakers. Murmu is set to meet BJP MPs and MLAs from West Bengal on Tuesday, July 12. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had recently said that Murmu, a tribal BJP leader from Odisha, could have been a consensus candidate had the saffron party discussed with the opposition parties before fielding her.
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