TDP, BJP hold gruelling talks

• Announcement on alliance likely to be made today
• BJP district presidents from both regions oppose talks
• Say tie-up will hurt the party, and threaten to quit en masse

Hyderabad: The TDP and the BJP leaders were engaged in marathon talks centred on seat-sharing for the ensuing elections. The talks which began in the morning were continuing till late reports came in. Senior BJP leaders Prakash Javadekar and Naresh Gujral first held over two-hour-long talks with TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu at his residence. Later, the venue of talks shifted to a private hotel in the city. TDP leaders from Telangana and Seemandhra regions such as E Dayakar Rao, M Narsimhulu, L Ramana, Sujana Chowdary etc met Javadekar and Gujral and tried to work out the nitty-gritty in regard to the constituencies and the number of seats they should agree upon.

After five hours of talks with TDP representatives, Javdekar and Gujral again went to the house of Naidu around 9 pm for final round of consultations. An agreement was expected to be arrived at the meeting and a formal announcement is likely to be made on Sunday.

Meanwhile, as part of pressure building tactics, the BJP district presidents from 10 districts Telangana districts and some Seemandhra districts met at BJP office and demanded that the BJP should not have any tie up with TDP.

They alleged that the TDP was overestimating its strength in Telangana and Seemandhra. They also called on Javdekar and submitted a memorandum asking them not to go ahead with the talks. They told the central party leaders that a tie-up with TDP will only be a loss to BJP and also threatened to quit if the party announces its decision to have alliance with the yellow party. This sudden development forced Javadekar to take up measures to placate them. Senior leader Bandaru Dattatreya and other leaders were also present.

Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy said he would discuss the issue with the central leaders. He told the district presidents that they will work out reasonable number of seats and pacified them.

B Venkat Reddy, Greater Hyderabad BJP chief said that BJP leaders and cadre in ten districts were not in a mood to join hands with a party considered anti-Telangana by the people of the region.

They claim that all surveys showed that BJP was in good position in Telangana when compared to the regional party. Instead of coming to terms with the present situation, TDP leaders are talking high about their performance in 2009 election in Telangana.

He was highly critical of TDP’s bargaining stand with regards to allotment of seats to the alliance partner. “The attitude of the TDP was like offering alms to BJP, which is not acceptable,” Venkat Reddy fumed.

Meanwhile, activists from Maheshwaram (Ranga Reddy district), Narayanpet (Mahabubnagar district) besides Amberpet constituency resorted to sloganeering against the alliance.

They demanded BJP leadership to drop plans to forge an understanding with TDP in ensuing elections. Joining the chorus, the Seemandhra BJP leader A Sridhar said that they were asking for seats they had won in the past when Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. He said they had given a list of 30 assembly seats where the BJP cadre was strong and they have good percentage of votes. But the TDP was quoting 2009 figures and was refusing to concede to their demand, he said.