Will the TDP cling to the NTR legacy even more in the future?

Nitin B| The News Minute| October 21, 2014| 8.00 pm ISTThe government of Andhra Pradesh has seen the Chief Minister post shift through so many hands but no one was perhaps more popular than N T Rama Rao. A film actor turned politician, he founded the Telugu Desam Party and led them to victory in the 1983 elections breaking the spell of the congress which had always governed the state from 1956. He reached out to the people through innovative campaigns and advocated the forming of a closer bond between the government and the common people. There is no questioning the legend of NTR and all that he did for the people. But 18 years after his death, the TDP lead by Chandrababu Naidu still seems to be banking on his popularity, not just during campaigns, but on a daily basis.Every morning the party’s first post on the Facebook is a picture of NTR with a message that says “good morning”. This photo is met with a lot of zealous comments from fans praising a man that they all look up to. The party then continues posting other items or events on their agenda which is met with a meager amount of enthusiasm while compared to the photo. This may seem like the party is just paying homage to its founder but it also brings out the question if this is another publicity tactic to constantly remind people that TDP follows NTR’s legacy.Post by Telugu Desam Party (TDP).“Chandrababu Naidu has no other option. After losing two elections, and finally winning one, he wants to take no more chances. NTR’s name is the one lifeline for he TDP, even now. There is a social class that still reveres NTR, and TDP needs to keep that class with the party. A daily reminder would be useful,” says Telakapalli Ravi, a political analyst.He believes that in the days to come, the TDP may use NTR’s name even vigorously, as the party’s current ally in the state, the BJP has plans to spread its wings in the state.“What we have now is a marriage of convenience. But the BJP will want to grow further in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This means Naidu will have to evoke NTR’s name even more. We may even see him do something for NTR, they way Mayawati ahas done in Uttar Pradesh,” T Ravi says.With the BJP claiming 47 out of 90 Assembly seats in Haryana and emerging as the single largest party in Maharashtra with 122 out of 288 seats, how long will it be before they no longer need to have an alliance with TDP? With the momentum that the BJP has gained after the country was swept by the “Modi wave” this year, it is penetrating states that it had no influence in the previous year. So what will the happen in the upcoming GHMC polls in Telangana if the BJP feels that it does not need the alliance of TDP? Will the TDP still cling on to the legacy left behind by a man 18 years after his death or will they change tactics and approach the polls in a different way? Or will the ‘outsider’ BJP’s growth prompt the TDP to cling on to NTR more than before?