Even as the talk of the Telugu Desam Party led by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu joining the National Democratic Alliance soon is gaining ground, not many Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are said to be keen on joining hands with the yellow party.
According to BJP sources, except BJP state president Daggubati Purandeshwari and a couple of others, nearly 90 percent of the party leaders have opposed to entering into an alliance with the TDP, as it would not help the party in the long run.
Most of the BJP leaders are of the view Naidu with suspicion since he had earlier snapped ties with the BJP.
“Reports indicate that the NDA will comfortably win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. So, it’s not a necessary patch-up for us with the TDP,” sources said.
Some other BJP leaders went to the extent of conveying to the party national leadership that it would be better to snap ties even with Pawan Kalyan, as he is the most unreliable partner without a focussed approach towards politics.
The leaders fear that the possible alliance with TDP would obliterate their opportunity to emerge from the shadows. A meeting convened by BJP’s national leaders witnessed the party’s district office-bearers vehemently opposing the alliance with the TDP.
A senior BJP leader pointed out that the TDP and the Jana Sena Party had already reached an understanding on seat sharing in almost all constituencies and even if the BJP joins the alliance, it will hardly get any seats.
They are demanding that if at all the BJP is compelled to join hands with the TDP-Jana Sena combine, it should demand a good number of seats for the party in coming elections.
“We would ask for at least one assembly seat in every district, besides at least eight-10 Lok Sabha seats,” a party leader said.