The national leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is reportedly not very interested in antagonizing YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, despite pressure from Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and his “adopted son” Pawan Kalyan of Jana Sena.
According to reports from New Delhi, the BJP central leadership has arrived at this decision after consulting with Naidu a few days ago.
Sources say that despite extensive discussions between the TDP chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President J P Nadda, Naidu did not receive any concrete assurances regarding alliances.
Although the BJP central leadership called Naidu to Delhi for talks under pressure from Jana Sena Party's chief, it remains skeptical of Naidu's intentions, given his past dealings with the BJP.
Reportedly, Naidu offered 10 Lok Sabha seats and a few assembly seats as part of an alliance and sought BJP's help in restraining Jagan and preventing him from using police machinery and village volunteers to manipulate the elections in his favor.
Sources indicate that the BJP top leadership clearly informed Naidu about strong resistance from local BJP leaders and cadres regarding an alliance with the TDP. They also clarified that even if an alliance were formed, there might not be a transfer of votes to the BJP.
Allegedly, Naidu told the BJP leadership that if there is no alliance, it would be better for the BJP to remain neutral. However, the BJP leadership has refused to make any commitments to the TDP in this regard.
On the other hand, Jagan reportedly conveyed to the BJP central leadership that his party would firmly support the BJP whenever needed, even though there might not be an explicit understanding between the two.
He reportedly assured the BJP top brass that the YSRCP's battalion of MPs would vote for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in parliament whenever required, relieving any concerns for the BJP.
The way BJP national leadership helped the YSRCP in Avinash Reddy episode and the Centre released grant of Rs 10,500 crore towards revenue deficit compensation and Rs 12,900 crore for the completion of Polavaram in a short span of time shows how strong the relationship between the YSRCP and the BJP is.
So, where is the need for the BJP to entertain the TDP?