The Telugu Desam Party on Monday decided to extend support to the candidature of tribal leader Draupadi Murmu for the post of the President of India.
The decision was taken by TDP president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu after the party’s strategy committee meeting held in Amaravati.
Stating that the TDP is always committed to social justice, Naidu said the party had decided to back the tribal woman leader for the top post in the country for the same reason.
Recalling that the TDP had earlier too supported the candidatures of K R Narayanan and APJ Abdul Kalam for the post of President of India, Naidu said these were classic examples of the party’s commitment to social justice.
The TDP was behind a Dalit leader GMC Balayogi becoming the Lok Sabha Speaker and a Dalit woman leader Prathibha Bharathi as Speaker of the assembly, Naidu said adding that OBC leader Kinjarapu Yerran Naidu had become a Union Minister only with the party’s support.
Beyond political considerations, the TDP had earlier wholeheartedly extended support to son of the soil PV Narasimha Rao at Nandyal to ensure that he became the Prime Minister of India. “The TDP has always stood by the Telugu people and is committed to social justice,” Naidu said.