Terming the BJP-TDP alliance in Andhra Pradesh as 'formidable to opponents in Seemandhra and Telangana', senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Monday said that this alliance is definitely capable of "sending a large contingent of MPs" for the NDA.
Jaitley wrote in his campaign diary on Monday that this alliance would have two kinds of impact.
"First, the BJP-TDP alliance has established the irrelevance of the third front. All non-Congress regional parties will have to align with the non-Congress combination represented by the NDA," he said while maintaining that the third front and the left front can never suit those occupying the non-Congress space in their states.
"In order to form a government, they will lose their political identity by being close to the Congress. It is thus important for them in their larger interest to be a part of the NDA. The TDP's return to the NDA has reinforced this point," Jaitley said.
Secondly, he said, with this alliance, the election is becoming increasingly a one horse race. "This alliance substantially settles the issue whether the NDA will get 272 plus on its own or not. The NDA now is capable of achieving the half mark by itself," he added.
DEFENDS AMIT SHAH
Commenting on the case registered against Amit Shah, BJP general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, for his alleged hate speech, Jaitley said the FIR lodged against Shah "comes as a surprise to any student of law".
"An appeal to the voters to take revenge against the incumbent government or the opponent because of its non-performance by voting against them is routinely done. The context in which the speech has been delivered has to be analyaed. In this speech, Amit Shah makes an appeal to the electorate to vote against someone and avenge the injustice. I wonder which provision of law can such a speech violate since it is only an appeal to vote," he said.
DEFENDS AMIT SHAH
Commenting on the case registered against Amit Shah, BJP general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, for his alleged hate speech, Jaitley said the FIR lodged against Shah "comes as a surprise to any student of law".
"An appeal to the voters to take revenge against the incumbent government or the opponent because of its non-performance by voting against them is routinely done. The context in which the speech has been delivered has to be analyaed. In this speech, Amit Shah makes an appeal to the electorate to vote against someone and avenge the injustice. I wonder which provision of law can such a speech violate since it is only an appeal to vote," he said.