The meeting of Jana Sena Party president and power star Pawan Kalyan with Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Wednesday night has given a lot of clarity to the Telugu Desam Party leadership that the Bharatiya Janata Party is not interested in any kind of understanding with it – either in Telangana or in Andhra.
Sources said Shah has made it clear to Pawan Kalyan that the BJP would have a tie-up with only Jana Sena in Telangana for the November 30 assembly elections.
He did not evince any kind of interest in the TDP’s proposal to opt out of the contest in Telangana to help the BJP, if the latter is going to help the TDP in Andhra Pradesh subsequently.
When Pawan Kalyan tried to raise the issue of the BJP joining the TDP-Jana Sena alliance in Andhra Pradesh, Shah refused to talk about it and suggested that the present discussions be confined to the BJP-Jana Sena alliance only in Telangana.
Pawan Kalyan and his deputy Nadendla Manohar returned to Hyderabad last night. The Jana Sena Party president told the BJP leadership that he would hold discussions with his party leaders in Telangana today before coming to a conclusion.
Now, this has caught the TDP in a dilemma. Hitherto, the party was hoping to have some indirect understanding with the BJP. But now with Shah ruling out any such possibility, the TDP leadership is understood to have decided to contest the assembly elections.
Telangana TDP president Kasani Gyaneshwar is likely to meet TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu in Rajahmundry jail on Thursday to decide on the contest in Telangana.
There were reports that if the TDP decides to drop from the contest in Telangana, Gyaneshwar might quit the party to join the Bharat Rashtra Samithi.
Sources said the TDP has now changed his its strategy. It may contest the Telangana assembly elections. If not in all constituencies, as declared by Gyaneshwar earlier, it might contest in the constituencies where it has some support base, besides in the constituencies where the BJP is strong.
“Obviously, the TDP wants to split the pro-BJP votes, in a sort of revenge, even if it helps the Congress or the BRS. However, it might not fight in the constituencies where Jana Sena Party is in fray,” sources added.
