Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Ram Madhav on Saturday said that the Centre will soon sort out the differences and concerns of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader N Chandrababu Naidu. Madhav's response came days after a disappointed Naidu summoned an emergency meeting of his party to decide on the future course of action with regard to the TDP's association with the BJP.
“There seems to be some kind of unhappiness, we will talk it out. TDP is an old ally of the BJP. We will talk it out with them and will tell them we are committed to the interests of Andhra Pradesh,” Madhav said while responding to a query pertaining to Naidu's expression of disappointment over the Union Budget proposals for 2018-19 in which he has alleged of not addressing the needs of Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to the ANI, the BJP leader further said, “ The BJP are committed not only to address the TDP's concerns with regard to the Budget proposals, but also, all other issues of concern that it may have. We will convince Mr. Naidu and the TDP not to think of severing their ties with the BJP or the NDA. They are a valuable ally.”
An upset TDP pitched its senior leader and Union Minister Y S Chowdhary to tell the media in no uncertain terms that it was unhappy over no monetary allocation for Andhra Pradesh on many issues such as Polavaram project, funding for the new State capital of Amravati, making Visakhapatnam a zonal railways headquarters and clearance for the Kadappa steel plant project.
Chowdhary had February 1 warned that the TDP had three options before it; either try and continue the alliance; make their MPs resign; or simply terminate association with the BJP and the NDA.
He said that the TDP executive would in all probability meet on Sunday to take a final decision on the matter.
It has been reported that TDP MPs have been called to Vijayawada for a meeting at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.
last week, Naidu had issued an ultimatum to the BJP about charting its own course if the BJP did not wish to continue with the alliance.
The TDP is the BJP's largest political ally in southern India. Its warning came shortly after another disgruntled ally, the Shiv Sena, publicly slammed the BJP for treating its allies improperly and threatened to sever the partnership.
The TDP is of the view that the 2018 Budget proposals are 'anti-people and corporate friendly', and a betrayal of the interests of Andhra Pradesh. It has said that its concerns are of a serious nature and need to be addressed effectively and promptly.