BJP-TDP alliance hits road block
Hyderabad : The seat-sharing negotiations between Telugu Desam Party and Bharatiya Janata Party have hit a rough patch with the latter putting up some tough conditions to seal the deal.
The Telangana leaders of the saffron party, who are generally reluctant to have a tie-up with the regional party, are said to have demanded Chief Minister's post for the party in the event of the alliance coming to power in Telangana state.
This was made clear during the discussions that the visiting senior BJP leader Prakash Javdekar had with the party leaders on the issue of forging alliance with TDP in the coming elections.
The argument put forward by the Telangana BJP leaders was that the party was in a stronger position in Telangana region and deserved to get a lion's share of seats, besides Chief Minister's post for its nominee from the backward classes.
Javadekar is here to hold discussions with the leaders of both Telangana and Seemandhra regions. According to sources, the State BJP unit is divided over the issue of alliance with TDP with its Telangana unit president G Kishan Reddy being opposed to any kind of understanding.
The younger leaders like Y Lakshminarayana, Y Srinivas and others are also against any alliance even at this stage.
If the central leadership insists on having a tie-up, then the party should insist on at least 50 per cent seats in Telangana, they argued.Having taken a consistent stand in support of Telangana Statehood and cooperated in the passage of the bill in the Parliament, the BJP leaders are keen to take full advantage of the situation and contest in maximum number of seats in the region.
The BJP has reportedly asked for 60 Assembly seats, out of 119 in the region, and 8 to 9 Lok Sabha seats out of 17. However, the TDP leadership is reluctant to give in to the demand.
The TDP is offering 30 to 35 seats for the BJP. During the 2004 general elections, the TDP had given 9 Lok Sabha and 27 Assembly constituencies to BJP as part of the alliance.
Javadekar later left for Vijayawada for eliciting views of the local party leaders on the contours of alliance with the TDP. The TDP sources said they have not agreed to demand put forth by BJP over seat-sharing in Telangana.
"Conceding their demand for 50 per cent of seats is just not possible. But, there will be further rounds of talks," a senior TDP leader said. The TDP leaders are apprehensive of the repeat of the 2009 general election result as the alliance with TRS had then proved disadvantageous to them.
The TDP had given 45 Assembly and 8 Lok Sabha seats to TRS but the latter could win only 2 Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats.TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu is expected to confer with BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi soon to sort out the irritants.
News Posted: 21 March, 2014
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