Even BJP says no to TDP in the State

25 Sep, 2013 08:29 IST|Sakshi
Even BJP says no to TDP in the State

Hyderabad, Narendra Modi may have extended a hand of friendship to Telugu Desam Party for joining National Democratic Alliance but BJP's state leadership is not inclined for a tie-up between the two. We have not thought of alliances with any party in Andhra Pradesh.

We are preparing to contest all assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies (on our own), BJP state president G Kishan Reddy said. I am in constant touch with our central leadership. There will not be any alliance with TDP. If required, I will go to New Delhi and discuss the issue with our central leaders, Kishan Reddy added, three days after TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu had met BJP President Rajnath Singh over the Andhra Pradesh bifurcation issue. Launching BJPs general election campaign here on August 11, Modi had signalled to TDP to re-align with NDA saying the party should follow the legacy of its founder-president N T Rama Rao and join forces to make India Congress-free. Chandrababu, however, has so far remained non-committal on the possibility of his party joining hands with BJP again.  He said he did not discuss with Singh about alliances and confined only to the state bifurcation issue. Chandrababu's disclaimers notwithstanding, there has been a lot of buzz that TDP may eventually embrace BJP. TDP has been facing its worst-ever political predicament in Andhra Pradesh with the state bifurcation issue on one hand and the Jagan factor on the other pushing it to the edge. A section of TDP leadership believes that a truck with BJP could be beneficial for it as had happened in 1999.
 Not that BJP is any better placed. By taking a completely pro-Telangana stance, the party has been in a corner in coastal Andhra-Rayalaseema regions. On the other hand, despite favouring the states division, its doubtful whether BJP could make any real gains in Telangana. Party leaders, however, feel the NaMo factor would override any other factor and help BJP re-establish hold in Telangana.  But they are not hopeful of any improvement in their prospects in Seemaandhra given the strong united AP tide. Even if we have any alliance with the TDP, it will not help us in any manner in Seemaandhra because of its ambivalent stand on the division. In Telangana, a tie-up with TDP could be counter-productive for us as it has lost all credibility because of its constant flip-flops on the statehood issue, a top BJP leader pointed out. Telugu Desam leaders say they have not yet discussed within the party about poll alliances. We have just returned from New Delhi after taking up the statehood issue with all national leaders. Our politburo will meet soon to discuss all issues, a senior TDP leader said.

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