Modi on NDA expansion mode

Hyderabad/New Delhi: “Ab Ki Baar 400 Par” this being the slogan adopted by BJP for the Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party is making all-out efforts to re-strengthen the NDA and weaken the I.N.D.I.A bloc.

As part of this exercise, the BJP wants to rope in not only Telugu Desam but also the Biju Janata Dal led by Naveen Patnaik and is likely to readmit Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena and Akali Dal.

Sources said the TDP too is willing to be back in the NDA fold as the Centre’s help in rebuilding Andhra Pradesh after coming to power would be necessary. In the backdrop of this, a lot of background exercise is learnt to have been made before Union Home Minister Amit Shah invited the TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu for talks. That was the reason why both withheld the announcement of seats and names of contesting candidates.

Before leaving for Delhi on Wednesday, Naidu held a nearly two-hour long meeting with party senior leaders and it was felt that joining NDA would be of advantage post elections. But before that the BJP should make certain announcements so that the existing image that BJP and YSRCP were two sides of the same coin was negated. There is a negative impression of the BJP and people feel that it was also responsible for the present state of affairs in the state. Hence, the TDP wants that either Amit Shah or Prime Minister Narendra Modi should visit Amaravati and announce that the state will have only one capital and that is Amaravati and the double engine sarkar will take up speedy development, that it will give either special status or package equivalent to it, putting the proposal of disinvestment of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on hold and propose job security for its employees and firm assurance that it would fund the construction of Polavaram from construction of diaphragm wall which was damaged due to ignorance of the YSRCP government.

TDP-JSP and state BJP leaders feel that if BJP makes such an announcement, it would help not only in retaining the minority votes but will make it possible to transfer TDP-JSP votes to BJP.

Sources in Delhi said that the BJP too has decided to be practical during the talks with Naidu. It is known that in 2014 when the BJP-TDP alliance was there it had contested 4 MP seats and 12 MLA seats but won only 2 MP and 4 MLA seats.

In 2019 it contested all 175 seats but got only 0.1% votes. Hence this time they may agree for 5-6 MP seats and about equal number of Assembly seats.

BJP is likely to ask for the Tirupati LS seat for N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Eluru for Sujana Chowdary, Rajahmundry for D Purandeswari, Visakhapatnam, Anantapur or Hindupur.