The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Ties: BJP leaves it to TDP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 06, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Ties: BJP leaves it to TDP

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, DEC.5. Another indication that the Telugu Desam Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party are not keen on continuing their alliance came today with the BJP declaring that it was left to the TDP to decide upon parting ways.

Asked about the hints dropped by the TDP president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, of moving away from the BJP, the BJP State vice-president, S. V. Seshagiri Rao said: "It is left to them." The party State general secretary, K. Laxman, said talk of alliances was "irrelevant" now as there were no elections. The BJP leaders said the meet discussed the need to gear up for the coming municipal elections. While there would not be any State-level tie-up with the TDP for the municipal elections, the district units had been given the freedom to decide on teaming up with the TDP if the situation warranted.

No truck with TRS

Asked if the BJP would have a pact with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, they said they would not think of having a tie-up with the TRS as long as it was in the Government. The BJP's aim was to occupy the political "vacuum" in the State and emerge as an alternative to the "ruling party."

They said the meeting discussed the problems of farmers and decided to continue the struggle until justice was rendered to them. Criticising the Government for not taking the issue seriously, they said the party would raise it in Parliament. They demanded that the National Food-for-Work scheme launched by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, recently be extended to all 750-odd drought-hit mandals in the State.

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