Telangana issue: TDP, Praja Rajyam in fix; may alter stand

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Praja Rajyam Party are in a fix over their stand on Telangana and the leaderships have dropped enough hints about a "re-think" in the wake of mounting pressure from within the ranks for a unified Andhra Pradesh.

TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu has already indicated that the party would go by the mood of the people on the bifurcation issue. "The issue is now in the people’s court and we have to respect the people's verdict," he had observed.

However, party MLAs and senior leaders from Telangana have been demanding that a separate TDP unit for the region be set up in the wake of political developments in which all parties are divided along regional lines.

The TDP has a strong base in Telangana with 39 MLAs.

Same is not the case with the PRP, which has only two lawmakers from the region.

With 15 PRP legislators hailing from Rayalaseema and Andhra regions resigning from their posts and raising the demand that the party alter its stand on the Telangana issue, party supremo Chiranjeevi is said to be discussing the pros and cons of any such move.