Cadre's No to alliance, but BJP leaders want truck with TDP in AP

There is deep discontentment within the BJP in Andhra Pradesh over talks with the TDP for an electoral alliance. The Andhra BJP leaders, at least a large section of the party workers, are unhappy with the talk of an alliance. There are murmurs within the party cadre that this will push the party back by at least 10 years. A strong section feels that the BJP should go it alone in AP.

The cadres of the party are not happy with the national leadership engaging with Chandrababu Naidu. These leaders do not have their fingers on the pulse of the people, argued a party leader who refused to identify. He said that the majority of the BJP cadres feel that the party should go it alone regardless of the consequences.

BJP insiders feel that the Modi-Shah duo want to ensure that the BJP has at least minimal representation from all the states in the country, including Andhra Pradesh. For this, they feel an alliance with the TDP would be useful. Otherwise, despite being in the governance, the BJP may not have any representation from states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Hence, they are trying hard to enter into an alliance with the TDP.

Meanwhile, the cadre do not seem to share the same enthusiasm. They strongly feel that there should be no truck with any party and that the BJP should grow in strength on its own. By joining hands with the TDP, the party’s organizational growth and ideological strength would be compromised, they argue. As of now, however, it looks quite certain that the BJP national leadership is all for an alliance with the TDP.