HYDERABAD: After crossing swords with each other for some days, TDP and BJP, which are sharing power in Andhra Pradesh, seems to have made peace with each other, for now.
Days after BJP’s ‘drubbing’ in Bihar Assembly elections, as per the directive of their party’s Central leadership, AP BJP leaders particularly, State ministers, MLAs and MLC, are going to meet Chief Minister and TDP boss N Chandrababu Naidu on Dec 5 at Vijayawada to settle their differences.
Interestingly, BJP’s trio, D Purandeswari, Kanna Lakshminarayana and Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, who are arch rivals of Chief Minister Naidu, might not be part of the BJP delegation, which will call on the TDP boss to hammer out a “deal” for smooth sailing of the ongoing friendship of the two parties both at Centre and State.
According to sources, during the proposed meeting, leaders of both the parties will try to work out a formula to achieve greater coordination between the two parties in the State, which had engaged in ‘skirmishes’ with high-decibel verbal duel till the other day.
“We will be calling on the Chief Minister Naidu on Dec 5 at Vijayawada to improve coordination between the two parties. Issues like giving proper share to BJP leaders while filling nominated posts, giving due credit to the BJP while publicising Centre-sponsored schemes such as construction of houses to weaker sections, Smart Cities and providing 24X7 power,” BJP MLC Somu Veerraju told Express.
Interestingly, Raju, who had been leading the BJP’s attack against the TDP till the other day, seems to have softened his tone towards the yellow party, for now.
When wanted to know whether the saffron party’s State unit has chalked out any strategy to make people know about the Centre’s assistance to the reorganised State after recalling his earlier comments that the TDP was not giving due credit to BJP over Central schemes, Raju tried to play down the issue.
“We are now busy with our party’s organisational polls. Only after completion of these elections, we will be able to concentrate on these issues,” he said.
In fact, it was earlier reported in these columns that when the BJP’s Rayalaseema leaders had wanted to undertake Delhi Yatra recently to complain against the attitude of the Chief Minister Naidu towards their region, they had been asked by their party’s central leadership to first meet the chief minister to air their views before visiting Delhi.
Sources disclosed that the proposed ‘coordination meeting’ scheduled to take place on Dec 5 has been planned by the leaderships of the TDP and BJP in order to further cement the ongoing relationship between the two parties.
As this development is taking place a few weeks after the saffron party’s rout in Bihar Assembly polls, some of the BJP leaders say that their party leadership for now might have decided not to create any problems for the TDP in the reorganised State as the saffron party has a long way to go in irder to achieve its dream of growing in the State on its own strength.
“As per our party leadership’s suggestion, we have decided to meet the chief minister. During the meeting, we will raise Rayalaseema issues also. After that, we will undertake Delhi Yatra and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and our party president Amit Shah, if it is necessary,” another BJP leader said.