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Suspense persists over BJP’s alliance with TDP-Jana Sena

By, Hyderabad
Feb 23, 2024 08:54 AM IST

With few weeks left for announcement of the schedule for the elections to the Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh state assembly, suspense continues to loom over the Bharatiya Janata Party joining the Telugu Desam Party-Jana Sena Party alliance to fight the elections together.

With few weeks left for announcement of the schedule for the elections to the Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh state assembly, suspense continues to loom over the Bharatiya Janata Party joining the Telugu Desam Party-Jana Sena Party alliance to fight the elections together.

The TDP, headed by former Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, and the Jana Sena Party, headed by popular Tollywood actor Pawan Kalyan, officially entered into an alliance in September. (ANI)
The TDP, headed by former Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, and the Jana Sena Party, headed by popular Tollywood actor Pawan Kalyan, officially entered into an alliance in September. (ANI)

The TDP headed by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena Party headed by popular Tollywood actor Pawan Kalyan, who had officially entered into an alliance in September last itself, are optimistic about the BJP joining the alliance, but there has been no word yet from the BJP national leadership so far.

Naidu had met senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah late at night in New Delhi on February 8, triggering speculation that they had struck a deal on the alliance. “Shah had formally invited Naidu to return to the National Democratic Alliance fold and Naidu accepted the offer in principle. So, the alliance is more or less done,” TDP official spokesman N Vijay Kumar told HT.

He said the TDP chief had also held discussions with the party leaders, besides teleconference with thousands of party workers to explain to them about the possible alliance with the BJP, apart from the existing pact with the Jana Sena. “So, from our side, we are very clear about the alliance with the BJP,” Kumar said.

Meanwhile, Pawan Kalyan also said he had requested the BJP and convinced it to join the TDP-Jana Sena Party alliance to see that the anti-incumbency vote would not get split. “I might go to New Delhi in a day or two to finalise the deal,” Pawan told reporters at Bhimavaram in West Godavari district on Wednesday.

However, there is no word yet from the BJP leaders till date on whether their party would join the alliance and when. Initial reports said the party might take a call on the alliance with the TDP-Jana Sena at its two-day national convention that concluded in New Delhi on Sunday, but there was no such message from Delhi till now.

“The BJP national leadership is seized of the matter and it will take a call on the alliances,” BJP state president Daggubati Purandeshwari, who attended the party’s national convention, said.

Former president of Andhra BJP Somu Veerraju told reporters on Thursday that the issue of the BJP joining the TDP-Jana Sena Party alliance would be decided in two or three days. “There are indications that all the three parties would go together in the coming elections,” he said.

A senior BJP leader from Rayalaseema said on condition of anonymity that many of the party leaders in the state were not interested in joining hands with the TDP, which had deserted the NDA twice – first in 2004 and then in 2018.

“Especially after coming out of the NDA in March 2018, Naidu made caustic comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and even joined hands with the Congress to pull down the NDA government. Now, he is trying to return to the NDA again. He is the most unreliable partner. Even Modi is aware of it,” the BJP leader said.

Interestingly, Pawan Kalyan, too, admitted that the BJP national leadership was not very keen on joining hands with the TDP. “I had to incur the wrath of many top leaders of BJP, when I proposed to have an alliance with the TDP and BJP with an objective of preventing anti-establishment vote in Andhra,” he said to the reporters.

He, however, said he was firm on the three-party alliance which is the only way to defeat the YSR Congress party led by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. “I proposed the alliance not for my personal benefit but in the larger interests of the state. I pleaded with the BJP leaders with folded hands and requested them to join hands,’’ Pawan Kalyan said.

The TDP spokesperson said while the TDP had more or less struck a seat-sharing agreement with the Jana Sena Party, it was awaiting a response from the BJP for the alliance. “From our party side, we shall announce the list of candidates very shortly. If the BJP takes a decision to join the alliance, it will send its representatives to initiate the seat-sharing dialogue,” Kumar added.

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