Hyderabad: A rejuvenated Telugu Desam Party aims to become a national party from being a regional outfit as it sits for its two-day annual conclave `Mahanadu` from Tuesday to deliberate the issue among other things.
Victory in recent elections to the (new) Andhra Pradesh Assembly has come as a major boost to the party that was confined to the opposition in the last ten years.
The TDP is set to form the first government of the truncated portion of AP by winning 102 seats in the 175-member Assembly.
Party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu will take oath as Chief Minister on June 8.
Also, by winning 15 Assembly seats in the new Telangana Assembly with a 14.5 per cent vote share, the TDP emerged as the only party with a strong presence in both the states, post-bifurcation.
Hence, the 32-year-old party now wants to transform into a national party with its presence in the two states.
It also aims to wrest power in Telangana in 2019.
"We will discuss the issue at the Mahanadu and then apply to the Election Commission of India seeking recognition as a national party," a politburo member of TDP said.
The TDP is also exploring the possibility of spreading its wings to neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka where a sizable number of Telugus reside.
The party already has a unit running in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
At the `Mahanadu`, the party will constitute a separate committee for Telangana state while Chandrababu Naidu will be re-elected as chief of the Andhra Pradesh unit.
Among other things, the `Mahanadu` will "dedicate" the party`s victory in recent elections in AP to the rank and file and pledge to work for a corruption-free India.
"Since the TDP will be joining the NDA government at the Centre, we will deliberate on various reforms that need to be brought in to ensure good governance and eliminate poverty. Our aim is a poverty-free India," TDP secretary T D Janardhan said.
Besides organisational issues, the TDP would also discuss implementation of its election manifesto in AP and steps for exerting pressure on the Telangana government to address people`s problems in the new state that would formally come into being on June 2.
Over 20,000 delegates are expected to attend the conclave that is held every year coinciding with the birth anniversary of TDP founder-president N T Rama Rao on May 28.
