Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party high command is seriously deliberating on joining the Telugu Desam Party-Jana Sena Party alliance in Andhra Pradesh, a senior party leader from the state S Vishnuvardhan Reddy is learnt to have incurred the wrath of the party high command for his loose talk on the alliance.
Vishnuvardhan Reddy, who is the vice-president of Andhra Pradesh BJP unit, triggered a sensation in the party circles and also in the TDP-Jana Sena combine a couple of days ago by saying that it will be the BJP chief minister in Andhra Pradesh after the elections.
“The BJP will form a double-engine government in Andhra Pradesh. We are not ready to carry anyone on our shoulders and make someone else the chief minster. We are very firm on our demand in our talks with the other parties. We want a BJP candidate to be the chief minister,” he asserted.
He said the BJP was not craving for any alliance with any party and it has its own strength in AP.
“There is a lot of change between 2019 and 2024. If anyone has any doubts about our strength, they must see who is waiting for whose appointment in Delhi.” Vishnuvardhan Reddy said.
His comments were immediately flashed to the party top leadership in Delhi. At the BJP national convention held in Delhi, the top leaders took Vishnuvardhan Reddy to task and threatened to suspend him from the party if he made such comments.
“How can you talk so irresponsibly about the seats and alliances? Have you taken the party president’s permission before making such comments? Do you know what we are thinking about?” the BJP national leaders fumed at Reddy.
The BJP national leadership also pulled up other Andhra BJP leaders not to make any comments on alliance issue in the state.
“If anybody makes such comments, they would be sacked from the party,” the top leaders warned.
A red-faced Vishnu is learnt to have walked out of the BJP meeting, which was attended by national parliamentary board members and other senior leaders. He straightaway returned to Andhra Pradesh, sources said.
Right from the beginning, Vishnuvardhan Reddy has been opposing any kind of alliance with the TDP. He is said to be in close touch with the YSR Congress party leaders and is resisting the TDP-Jana Sena combine, sources added.