Vijayawada: All arrangements are complete for BJP chief Amit Shah’s visit of Andhra Pradesh. Keenly awaited are his words and actions vis-a-vis the BJP’s alliance partner, the Telugu Desam headed by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, at his Vijayawada meet.
The BJP is pinning high hopes on Shah’s visit, and is sure it would give a boost to the morale of the party and its activists. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with YSRC leader and Opposition leader in the state Assembly Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in Delhi in recently had added to the wedge between the BJP and TD in the state. TD leaders including CM Chandrababu Naidu had expressed serious concern over the unexpected meeting. Reports also had said Naidu failed to get an appointment with the PM.
There is considerable bitterness between the two parties, as is reflected in a recent comment from TD MP Kesineni Nani that the TD had lost majority in the Assembly in the last polls because of its alliance with the BJP. CM Naidu intervened to calm down tempers in the party, against the BJP, and then leaders started turning their ire on Jagan. The TD MP’s comment drew sharp retorts from the BJP leaders.
Interestingly, the CM and Shah are flying together to Vijayawada in a special flight, and Naidu is also hosting a lunch for the BJP leader at his residence in Undavalli. As reports go, Shah had recently admonished some BJP leaders from the state going to Delhi and complaining to Shah about lack of cooperation from the ally TD, and Shah had replied that this was how politics should be.
Amit Shah would attend the BJP state executive committee meet, followed by the party’s polling booth-level workers’ meet as part of his nation-wide outreach exercise.
Naidu to hold luncheon meet with Amit Shah
AP Chief Minister and TD chief N. Chandrababu Naidu will hold a luncheon meeting with BJP chief Amit Shah during his visit to Andhra Pradesh.
Mr Naidu, who has left to Hyderabad for T-TD Mahanadu, will return in a special flight with Mr Amit Shah to Vijayawada. With the recent war of words between TD and BJP leaders, Naidu-Shah flight journey and luncheon gains importance.
The controversy, which began with the appointment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to YSRC chief Jagan Mohan Reddy, had gone till the analysis of advantages and disadvantages of TD-BJP alliance by both parties’ leaders.
Later, the Chief Minister intervened and subdued the comments on BJP and diverted it to Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Later with the comments of Vijayawada TD MP Kesineni Nani, the war of words is still continuing between the TD and BJP. Very recently on Wednesday evening, AP BJP chief Kambhampati Hari Babu condemned the comments of Mr Nani and said it was unfair to share his opinion to media on the alliance, and suggested it would have been better for Mr Nani to share them with his party chief, and stated alliance is possible only with mutual benefits.
Earlier, Mr Kesineni Nani on Sunday said, “The TD would have won with larger margin had it not allied with the BJP for the 2014 general elections.”
