BJP opens doors to TRS as talks with TDP collapse

HYDERABAD: After days of driving a hard bargain, the BJP said its talks with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on seat-sharing did not lead anywhere. It now appears that there would be no poll deal between the two parties, which opens the possibility of an electoral understanding between BJP and TRS.

At the end of the talks on Saturday, BJP Telangana president G Kishan Reddy said it was all over and that there would be no truck with the TDP.

'Talks with TDP are over. We are going ahead with finalisation of candidates for all the seats, both Lok Sabha and Assembly in Telangana, and would come out with the first list by Ugadi.

Kishan Reddy said it has been decided to go it alone after discussing the situation with party national leadership. 'Our party discussed alliance proposal with TDP, but there was no proper response from its leaders. Hence, we have decided to go it alone,' he said, but added the raider that dialogue with TDP would be reopened if the national leadership so desires.

According to sources, though the three-member panel of the Telangana TDP, appointed by party boss N Chandrababu Naidu and consisting of L Ramana, E Dayakar Rao and M Narsimhulu, held lengthy discussions with their BJP counterparts here on Saturday, both the camps failed to arrive at an understanding over seat-sharing.

Interestingly, joining chorus with the Telangana BJP leaders in opposing electoral truck with the TDP, their Seemandhra counterparts too on Saturday began asking their Delhi bosses not to forge alliance with the yellow party if it does not give the number of seats as demanded by the BJP.

Disclosing that the alliance talks have reached an impasse, the BJP Seemandhra unit chief Kambhampati Haribabu said in Visakhapatnam that they had apprised their Delhi bosses of the latest position of both the parties over seat-sharing. The final decision would be taken by the BJP central leadership, he added.

According to sources, the saffron party wants 12 LS and 70 Assembly seats in both Seemandhra and Telangana. However, the TDP leadership is not ready to concede this number. It is willing to give 10 LS and 45 Assembly seats to the BJP.

Indicating that the possibility of alliance between the two parties is on the rocks, saffron party's spokesperson Prakash Javdeker, who had been in Hyderabad till Saturday, reportedly told his party leaders in the State that arriving at an agreement on seat-sharing both in Telangana and Seemandhra was proving to be tougher than expected as the TDP is not ready to give sufficient seats to the BJP.

Hence, he is learnt to have asked his Telangana and Seemandhra units to get ready for going all alone to the general polls.

However, the TDP sources said their party leadership had been holding talks with the BJP central leadership. A final decision with regard to seat-sharing might be taken by the TDP leadership on Sunday during the party's politburo meeting, to be convened by the party chief Naidu.

Earlier in the day, the Telangana TDP leaders-- Dayakar Rao, Ramana and Narasimhulu--held talks with the BJP leaders headed by party Telangana unit chief G Kishan Reddy.

After failing to arrive on a amicable number over seat-sharing, the BJP leaders are learnt to have asked the the TTDP leaders to give two separate lists, one list containing seats which the TTDP is ready to give and another list of seats which the party is not willing to give to the BJP.

Soon after the meeting, the TTDP leaders drove straight to Naidu's residence and apprised him of the BJP's stance. According to sources, the BJP wants five LS and 25 Assembly seats in Seemandhra and seven LS and 45 Assembly seats in Telangana.

However, the TDP leadership is ready to give three LS and 10 Assembly seats to the BJP in Seemandhra. It offers seven LS and 35 Assembly seats to the saffron party in Telangana.