Bharatiya Janata Party national leadership is sending confusing signals to the party leaders in Andhra Pradesh over joining the alliance of Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena Party to fight the upcoming elections.
While leaking reports to the media that the TDP would be roped into the National Democratic Alliance on March 5, the BJP national leadership has reportedly asked the party leaders in the state to send list of aspirants for all the 175 assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha seats.
The state party has already received applications from 2500 aspirants for the assembly and Lok Sabha seats and forwarded the same to Delhi.
BJP national secretary (organisation) Shiv Prakash has begun holding talks with the state BJP leaders for the last two days, analysing the strength and weaknesses of the candidates.
Apparently, Shiv Prakash has been asked to shortlist three candidates for each seat and submit the list to the central election committee of the party.
The party intelligence is also gathering information about the candidates independently and survey reports from various agencies.
This led to the confusion among the party cadres as to what the BJP national leadership is up to. If the BJP wants to go it alone, it can straightway tell the state party leaders, instead of keeping them in tenterhooks.
On the other hand, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena party president Pawan Kalyan are learnt to have virtually given up the hope that the BJP would join their alliance. They have thrown the ball into the BJP court and are waiting without making any comments.
Sources said they have kept their “Plan B” ready, in the event of the BJP deciding to go alone and announce their second list of candidates, once they receive signals from the BJP to that effect.
Meanwhile, YSR Congress party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is likely to go to Delhi to meet the top BJP leaders.
“Once he gets the appointment, he will fly to Delhi in a day or two,” he said.
Apparently, Jagan has told the BJP national leadership that his party would join the NDA soon after the elections and extend all possible support.
Since all the 11 Rajya Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh are from YSRCP and there is no chance for the opposition to have any representation in the RS for next two years, the BJP feels the YSRCP is more useful to it than the TDP.
“Even if the TDP wins the assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, it will have no option but to support the NDA in the best interest of the state. So, there is no immediate threat from the TDP,” sources said.
