The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), the powerful custodians of the renowned Tirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh, will now accept and honour recommendation letters for VIP Darshan issued by Telangana legislators, parliamentarians, and council members. This decision comes after Telangana politicians publicly highlighted the challenges faced by devotees from the state.
On December 16, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy wrote to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, N. Chandrababu Naidu, urging him to revert to the practice from the united Andhra Pradesh era when recommendation letters from the Telangana region were accepted for VIP Darshan. For the past decade, only key officials in the Andhra Pradesh government were authorised to issue such letters.
Responding positively, Naidu wrote back to Reddy on December 30, confirming the policy change. From now on, any MLA, MLC, or MP from Telangana can issue up to two recommendation letters for VIP tickets each week. While this is a government-to-government decision, its political implications are under scanner as the TDP seeks to re-establish itself in Telangana.
Political analysts see this as a goodwill gesture that could help the TDP regain traction in Telangana. The party currently has no MLAs or MPs in the state and has been inactive politically. However, it has initiated an aggressive membership drive in Telangana, enrolling around 90,000 new members from various districts in recent weeks.
To strengthen its organisational structure, the TDP is planning to appoint a new state president with a strong face and former Hyderabad Mayor Teegala Krishna Reddy has emerged as a frontrunner. The party is also reaching out to former leaders and MLAs attempting to bring them back into the fold. Former actor and minister Babu Mohan has rejoined the party during the ongoing drive.
The uptick in TDP’s activity in Telangana has a clear purpose— to prepare for the upcoming local body and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections to be held this year. Hyderabad was once a TDP stronghold and the party hopes to reclaim its influence in the city. The party feels that its success in Hyderabad will act as a gateway to expand its presence across Telangana.
The TDP is banking on its historically strong organisational structure which remains sturdy in some pockets of the state. Fresh off its success in Andhra Pradesh, the party sees an opportunity to fill the void left by weakened regional parties like the BRS which performed poorly in the general elections and failed to secure even a single MP seat. While national parties like the Congress and BJP are gaining momentum, the TDP believes there is still room for a regional player to make a strong mark in state politics.
