Even as the Telangana unit of Bharatiya Janata Party has made up its mind to break its alliance with the Telugu Desam Party, its counterpart in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh seems to be in two minds on the same issue.
While majority of senior party leaders of the party in AP, who met in Vijayawada were of the opinion that the alliance with the TDP was hampering the growth of the party, the State BJP president K Haribabu was not in favour of immediately severing the relations.
The TDP and the BJP were sharing power in Andhra Pradesh while both of them were in Opposition in Telangana rapidly losing ground to the ruling Telanganan Rashtra Samiti.
The Andhra BJP leaders, who interacted on the option before the party in the State were also unhappy with the TDP for not giving the due credit to the BJP Government at the Centre for releasing funds for various schemes and also sanctioning several institutions for the newly created State.
The party leaders who had come from all the 12 districts, including likes of former union Minister Purandeswari and former State Minister Kanna lakshminarayana wanted the State leadership to take the initiative and break up with the TDP. But according to the party sources Haribabu told them to wait for the TDP to make the first move.
The differences between the alliance partners had recently come to the fore when during his visit to the State BJP national president Amit Shah had gone on an offensive against the TDP and listed out various sops Center had given to the State in form of funds and institutions.
Purandeswari pointed out that when she raised the questions about the State TDP government not giving credit to the BJP for the Central funds and schemes, the TDP leaders launched a personal attack on her.
But Haribabu, MP from Visakhapatanam, indicated that he was no hurry to break the alliance with the TDP. “We are open for alliance with any non Congress party. BJP was comfortable with the TDP and the continuation of alliance is an indication of the BJP’s stand”, he said.
As far as Telangana was concerned, the BJP leadership has made up its mind to break the alliance as it failed to yield any results in the recent elections in the state. The BJP drew a blank in the municipal corporation elections in Warangal and Khammam and put up worst ever performance in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections.
After the issue was discussed at the state executive meeting of the BJP, union minister of State Bandaru Dattatreya said, “there are many voices within the BJP that there was no point in continuing alliance with the TDP”.
Telangana BJP leaders were uncomfortable that TDP had lost its ground in the state with the exodus of its leaders to the TRS and there was no strong leadership left.
Dattatreya said that the BJP will chalk out a strategy to emerge as an alternative to the TRS in Telangana.