TDP ready to bid adieu to BJP

Amaravati: The honeymoon between TDP and BJP seems to be on the rocks. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday made his displeasure known over the way the BJP leaders were speaking about the TDP, its alliance partner and said: "If the BJP does not want us, let it be so. We will chart our own course."

Interestingly, Naidu's ‘despair’ over the alliance going on a downward spiral, came in the wake of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy indicating to the BJP that he is around should it contemplate a change of partner. Though he made his offer conditional that it was valid only if a firm commitment is given by the Centre on special category status, the significance of the statement is not lost on the TDP that it was ready to occupy its place.

The Chief Minister, replying to questions at a news conference at the Secretariat in Velgapudi, said that the TDP was exercising restraint even in the face of extreme provocation because it wanted to honour the coalition dharma. It is for the national leaders to control their state leaders. "If they do not want to remain our ally, then we will say namaskaram and step out of the alliance," the Chief Minister said.

The trigger for Naidu’s loud ‘introspection’ seems to be BJP floor leader in the Assembly and Visakhapatnam North legislator P Vishnukumar Raju, sharing the dais with Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman B Rajendranath Reddy, who is also YSRC legislator from Dhone and finding fault with the TDP for admitting into the party the legislators who had defected from the YSRC and promoting four of them as ministers. He even wondered if the TDP was running a coalition government with YSRC, which caused embarrassment to no end, to the Chief Minister.

The TDP happens to be a partner of the government at the Centre with two of its MPs being in the cabinet - P Ashok Gajapati Raju with cabinet rank and Y Sujana Chowdary, with minister of state rank. In the state, two BJP MLAs are in the cabinet - P Manikyala Rao and Kamineni Srinivas.

Chandrababu Naidu has not been very happy with the Centre for the last one-and-a-half years for what he terms inordinate delay in release of funds for Polavaram project, Amaravati capital construction and measures to ground the projects that had been promised in the AP State Reorganisation Act, 2014. Naidu is understood to be unable to reconcile himself to the fact that even the special package that had been offered to the state in lieu of special category status had remained only on the paper.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too has not been as overly enthused, as he used to be in the past, in meeting Naidu. Only after one-and-a-half years, he consented to see Naidu but the talks between the two leaders bore no fruit since Naidu himself had said that he would not mind moving Supreme Court if necessary for getting what is due to the state, which has not been out of woods yet.

In fact, NITI Aayog vice-chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar's tongue-in- cheek humour that since the per capita income in AP is more than national average, it does not need any support from the Centre nor was it need of special category status, had rattled Naidu who said a day later that Dr Rajiv Kumar should know that the state needed hand-holding and the growth figures appear healthy because they were on a low base.

Though Naidu has been biting the bullet even as the Centre became cold towards the state's requests since he is aware of the fact that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy would pounce on the opportunity. He had told the Prime Minister twice in the past that he was ready to support him.

Another reason why Naidu has been keeping quiet all along on alliance issue is that he might be in need of Modi's mojo this time too in the wake of Jagan Mohan Reddy making rapid strides to break new ground and improve his support base with his state-wide padayatra.