TDP not to contest LS polls in Telangana
Hyderabad, Apr 11 (PTI): Telugu Desam Party, has decided not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Telangana, and the beleaguered party here is yet to take a call on whom to support in the state, though it is part of the NDA in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, a senior leader of the party said.
TDP spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagari, however, said the TDP will resume its political innings by contesting the local body polls, expected to be held in June or July this year.
"Though we are part of the NDA, we are not contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Telangana.The decision on whom to support in the upcoming polls in Telangana will be taken by the party’s senior leadership. As of now, there is no instruction on that," she told PTI.
The political journey of the TDP's has been passing through rough weather for the past few years, and the situation worsened after TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was arrested by Andhra Pradesh police in a graft case.
Following his arrest, the party decided not to contest the assembly polls in Telangana held on November 30 last year, prompting its state president, Ksanai Gnaneswar, to desert TDP and join former Chief Minister K Chandrasekahr Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) before the polls.
Since then, the party in Telangana has become headless and has been fraught with the desertions of several leaders and cadres. The TDP, which managed to win two seats in the 2018 Assembly polls in Telangana, polled 3.51 per cent of votes. It had a pre-poll pact with Congress and the CPI then.
As the TDP did not contest the polls last year, other parties wooed its leaders and pocketed its vote pie in the Assembly polls.
Replying to a query, Tirunagari said there were no official instructions on whom to support in the 2023 Assembly polls in Telangana. The choice of support was left to the local leadership, and they took decisions as per the prevailing conditions in their respective constituencies.
"Appointing a president to the Telangana unit of the party will be decided in Mahanadu (the TDP's annual conclave)," the TDP leader said.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
