Poll results trigger BJP-TDP verbal duel

Poll results trigger BJP-TDP verbal duel
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Highlights

The victory of BJP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections triggered a war of words between the alliance partners in the state, BJP and TDP.

Vijayawada: The victory of BJP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections triggered a war of words between the alliance partners in the state, BJP and TDP.

In response to some comments by BJP MLC Somu Veerraju, TDP leader Y V B Rajendra Prasad said the BJP has not much base in the state and the four seats it had won during last elections were due to the support of TDP. Reacting strongly to these comments, BJP MLC Veerraju dared the TDP leaders to make the party chief N Chandrababu Naidu to state clearly that they do not need BJP support in the next elections.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, Somu Veerraju said the TDP leaders were campaigning that the BJP lacked strength in Andhra Pradesh. He took strong exception to the comments made by TDP MLC Y V B Rajendra Prasad that the BJP’s role was very nominal in the state and that it could secure the four seats during the last Assembly elections due to TDP’s support.

He said the BJP had lost in 2004 following the stance of Naidu that they should have a tie-up six months ahead of the polls. Then the BJP national leadership also agreed to Naidu’s suggestion to follow the coalition dharma. Veerraju said the BJP lost the elections in 2004 due to its electoral alliance with the TDP.

He said the BJP has enough strength in the State and it secured 18 per cent vote share. He also pointed out that the TDP had lost elections in 2009 when it did not forge an alliance with the BJP. He said the BJP had earlier planned to contest in all the constituencies on its own during the last Assembly elections.

He alleged that the TDP was not following the coalition dharma by quoting an example that its rebels had contested against the BJP in the recently held elections to Kakinada Municipal Corporation.

Expressing displeasure over the comments made by the TDP leaders, he said that they were raising the Special Category Status issue whenever they wanted to derive political mileage. The BJP MLC wondered why the Chief Minister had accepted special package announced by the Centre when his party was only interested in the Special Category Status.

Veerraju said the Centre is committed to completing the Polavaram Project following the guidelines. Actually the TDP and BJP leaders resorted to verbal attacks and counter attacks in the past also. Subsequently, the top leadership of BJP led by AP party affairs in-charge Siddharth Nath Singh and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu took a decision that leaders of the two parties should not resort to criticism between them.

They also formed a committee and decided to meet at least once in a three months to ensure proper coordination between the two parties. But the meetings did not take place due to various reasons and no one seems to be interested to take the lead to conduct the meetings.

TDP urban president Budda Venkanna said that his party leaders never cross line unless BJP leaders make comments against the TDP. The TDP leaders always follow the instructions of Chandrababu Naidu, he said.

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