TheTelugu Desam Party's annual convention got off to a sombre start on Thursday with party chief N Chandrababu Naidu admitted he made a mistake by opting for early assembly polls.

"Had we conducted elections after this Mahanadu (convention), the situation would not have been so bad for us," he told the two-day meeting after hoisting the party flag at the NTR Trust Bhavan.

The former chief minister accused some party colleagues of misguiding him about the public mood. "I have identified those people and will take action against them," he warned but chose not to reveal the names.

Naidu had dissolved the state assembly on November 14, 2003 and called for early elections in a bid to encash on a perceived sympathy wave following the attempt on him near Tirupati by the outlawed People's War group of Naxalites (left-wing extremists) on October 1, 2003.

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However, the TDP's tally of 47 assembly (total strength: 294) and five Lok Sabha seats (total strength: 42) is the lowest ever in the party's 21-year electoral history.

The Mahanadu is being held in the backdrop of the party's debacle in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. It will debate the reasons for the party's defeat. About 500 party MLAs, MPs, former ministers, defeated candidates, state and district-level party functionaries participated in the first day's session.

Naidu asked defeated candidates to spell out the 'correct' reasons for the party's poor performance.

Some defeated candidates said the TDP government's programmes were perceived as 'pro-rich' while others accused party cadres and local leaders of spoiling its image through bickering and indiscipline.

Former minister D Anjayeulu, however, laid the blame for the party's defeat at the doorstep of J M Lyngdoh. He said the former chief election commissioner did not hold the elections at the time chosen by the party.

"We have done good work for the development of Andhra Pradesh and welfare of all sections during the last nine years but the people voted against us. We have to accept their verdict gracefully," Naidu told the delegates.

He told them to stop making personal attacks on one another and work hard to rebuild and strengthen the party. He told them to minutely observe the functioning of the Congress government in the state and play the role of an effective opposition party.

The Mahanadu coincides with party founder late N T Rama Rao's birth anniversary on May 28. With the party out of power after nine long years, the event is being held in a low-key manner. As many as 500 delegates turned up for the first day's session.