Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday began an indefinite fast in the capital against the Congress government's proposal to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and create a Telangana state.

The former Andhra Pradesh chief minister termed the centre's move "political match fixing".

"The Congress party did not follow any procedure. It took this decision for political gains. The Congress party is responsible for what is happening in Andhra Pradesh," Naidu told reporters.

Earlier Sunday, in coastal Andhra and the Rayalaseema regions of the state, several towns and hundreds of villages plunged into darkness, and several trains were cancelled as electricity employees launched an indefinite strike to protest against the decision to carve out the separate state.