The opposition Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh led by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has extended unsolicited support to National Democratic Alliance’s candidate Droupadi Murmu in this month’s Presidential elections.
Though there was no appeal or a personal request from the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, Naidu decided that his party MPs and MLAs would vote for Murmu in the Presidential polls. He gave various reasons for the decision, particularly her tribal background.
Against this backdrop, Murmu would be coming to Vijayawada on Tuesday to meet the MPs and MLAs who would be voting for her. The ruling YSR Congress party has arranged a reception and meeting in her honour at C K convention centre in Vijayawada.
While BJP leaders including party’s state president Somu Veerraju and Union minister for tourism and culture G Kishan Reddy would be attending the meeting, where Jagan would introduce his party MLAs and MPs.
For obvious reasons, there is no invitation for the TDP MPs and MLAs, who are also Murmu’s voters, to the meeting. Even Murmu has no plans to meet the TDP voters as per the schedule, as Naidu announced his decision only last night; and moreover, neither Murmu nor the BJP leaders have ever spoken to Naidu and sought his support.
However, there are reports that Naidu and his party voters would meet Murmu separately and sought her time in Vijayawada. But the chances of their meeting her are bleak, as the YSRC government has made her schedule very tight.
Soon after the meeting at CK convention centre, Jagan would take Murmu in his car to his residence at Tadepally where he is hosting a hi-tea for her.
Sources said Jagan will ensure that the NDA’s presidential candidate is held up at his residence till evening so that she would have little time to meet anybody else and would straightway take her flight.
So, the chances of the TDP leaders meeting her for a courtesy call are almost nil. They might try to meet her at the airport for a minute, but one wonders whether they would be allowed to reach the airport at all.
Interestingly, TDP Rajya Sabha member Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar is learnt to have called up Kishan Reddy and requested that the TDP members, too, should be invited to the meeting with Murmu at Vijayawada.
"The TDP, too, has extended support to Murmu. So, it is a matter of courtesy that we, too, should be allowed to meet her when she comes to Vijayawada," he told Kishan Reddy.
The Union minister reportedly told him that he would speak to the party elders and Murmu and get back to the TDP leaders.
