TDP Threatens To Call Off Alliance With BJP

HYDERABAD: The TDP-BJP alliance in Andhra Pradesh, finalized after several twists and turns, is on the verge of collapse, with Chandrababu Naidu seeking the return of four assembly seats allotted to the right-wing party in Seemandhra. Naidu is also learnt to have initiated a telephonic survey with the party cadre seeking their opinion on whether or not to continue with the alliance.

These developments followed a controversy over the Rajampet and Narsapur Lok Sabha seats that have gone to the BJP as part of the alliance arrangement. The TDP boss is miffed that the BJP nominated his estranged sister-in-law Purandeswari from Rajampet — which is YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy’s territory. Purandeswari, sources said, was bound to lose from there, but Naidu did not want her to be given any ticket, even a losing one.

Naidu is also upset the BJP has not named “his nominee” Raghu Ram Krishnam Raju from the Narasapur seat. Naidu had promised Raju, a businessman who joined BJP recently after quitting YSR Congress, that he would swing a saffron party ticket for him from this seat. Armed with this promise, Raju was campaigning among voters when he realized the BJP had nominated a VHP man for this seat.

Raju, after talks with Naidu, filled three nominations from the seat on Thursday: one each in the name of TDP, BJP and as an independent. Raju does not have a BJP ‘B’ form given to official nominees but is confident of bagging it because of his supposed closeness to party president Rajnath Singh.

With the alliance threatening to fall apart, Naidu on Thursday originally planned to cut short his campaigning and return to Hyderabad by night. Naidu also pressed on Rajnath to surrender the four assembly seats in Seemandhra where, according to him, the BJP has fielded “weak” candidates.

The seats are Nellore Rural, Tadepalligudem, Santhananuthalapadu and Rajahmundry Urban. In three of the four seats, rebel TDP candidates filed their nominations on Thursday. Naidu’s men also filed nominations in Paderu, Ichhapuram, Kaikalur, Tadepalligudem, Madanapalle, Kadapa, Araku and Rajole which were actually given to the BJP as part of the seat sharing.

Now, Naidu is demanding that these four assembly seats be given back to the TDP so that it can field strong candidates on Saturday, the last day for filing the nominations. No nominations will be accepted on Good Friday as it’s a holiday. In return for the four assembly seats, the TDP chief is willing to give the BJP two more MLC nominations. As per the original agreed seat-sharing agreement for Seemandhra, the right-wing party was to get 14 assembly seats, four Lok Sabha seats and two MLC nominations.

BJP representatives said they were fed up with Naidu’s tantrums. They also said Naidu is angry because Modi refused to share the dais with him during his election campaign in Andhra Pradesh. But they said Modi is also uneasy with the “Modi for PM and Naidu for CM” slogans raised by TDP.

However, political analysts said Naidu, out of power for 10 years, is under pressure from his cadres to deliver. In his anxiety to win, he had also nominated many money bags and late entrants from the Congress leading to disenchantment among the cadres.