The release of the so-called common manifesto of National Democratic Alliance in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday has sent a message loud and clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party is not part of the manifesto at all and it was just the Telugu Desam Pary-Jana Sena manifesto.
If it is the common manifesto of the NDA, BJP state president Daggubati Purandeshwari should have attended the event of releasing the manifesto, but she chose to stay away from it.
Only BJP in-charge of Andhra affairs Siddharth Nath Singh attended it, but he ensured that he maintained distance from it.
Secondly, the manifesto release took place at Naidu’s residence, rather than at the common place. This also leads to the speculation that the BJP refused to be part of the exercise.
Thirdly, there were no meetings among the BJP, TDP and Jana Sena leaders to prepare the common manifesto. In fact, there was no manifesto committee with representatives from the three parties to draft the manifesto and there were no meetings held.
Only TDP and Jana Sena Party leaders held a meeting long ago to discuss the agenda for elections. While the TDP came up with “Super Six Guarantees,” Pawan Kalyan suggested “Sanmukha Vyuham” (six-pronged strategy). Only they were incorporated in the manifesto.
And Naidu himself admitted that the BJP had no role in the manifesto. He said the TDP and Jana Sena have done a thorough examination and made this Manifesto, taking the suggestions of the BJP.
“The NDA announced a manifesto at the National level. BJP has come forward to endorse our manifesto. The TDP and Janasena have taken the responsibility of implementing the manifesto,” he said.
That is precisely why the manifesto copy did not have the photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Amit Shah or J P Nadda. Naturally, the YSR Congress party quickly used the opportunity to its advantage.
“In 2014, when they released the manifesto, there were pictures of Naidu, Modi and Pawan Kalyan. This time, Naidu received a call from the BJP leaders in Delhi saying they would not accept Modi picture on the manifesto,” YSRCP president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said.
“This incident proves that his promises are unattainable, and BJP doen't agree with it,” he said.
There is also a talk that the BJP refused to be part of the manifesto, unless it incorporates removal of reservations for the Muslims in AP, but Naidu didn’t agree for the same.
