TDP-BJP crisis blows over

• TDP wants 7 out of 14 Assembly seats back
• But, BJP gives up only Ichchapuram seat
• Agrees to reconsider ‘weak’ candidates
• Not to pull back Gokaraju or Purandeswari

Hyderabad: The differences that arose between the TDP and the BJP on Friday over the issue of fielding weak candidates in certain Assembly constituencies were ironed out after a prolonged four-hour-long meeting between TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and BJP leaders Prakash Javadekar and Rajpurohit. The BJP has agreed to part with the Ichchapuram Assembly seat and settle for 13 seats in all, across Andhra Pradesh.

Though the TDP wanted the BJP to part with seven out of the fourteen Assembly seats, the latter reportedly agreed to give away only the Ichchapuram seat. However, it reportedly promised the TDP to reconsider the candidature of BJP's 'weak' nominees in some segments such as Tadepalligudem. According to sources, though the TDP wanted the BJP to part with 7 out of the 14 Assembly seats, the saffron party agreed to surrender only Ichchapuram seat. Speaking to the media soon after the meeting with Chandrababu Naidu, Javadekar asserted that the "alliance will continue" and proceeded to Venkaiah Naidu’s residence for further talks, even as Chandrababu left for Krishna district for campaigning. Asked if BJP had given any assurance to TDP on the demand to replace Narasapuram LS candidate Gokaraju Ganga Raju with Raghurama Krishnam Raju, the BJP leaders said that neither this issue nor NTR daughter D Purandeswari’s candidature for Rajampet seat figured in the talks.

Later, Javadekar, AP unit president Kambhampati Haribabu, TDP MP Y Satyanarayana (Sujana) Chowdary and former MP Kambhampati Ramamohan Rao held talks at senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu's residence here in the evening to resolve the crisis that threatened to wreck the alliance. They told the media that their alliance was intact and they would jointly fight the ensuing general polls to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister. They would also form their governments in Seemandhra and Telangana.

Substantiating the statement of Javadekar, Naidu during his road show at Machilipatnam in Krishna district said that though the BJP and the TDP had entered into poll tie-up, the minorities need not fear anything as the TDP was committed to taking care of the interests of all sections including minorities.

After forging the alliance with the BJP, the TDP-BJP combine was able to get some feel-good atmosphere for it both in Seemandhra and Telangana as Naidu tried to convince people that he could reconstruct both States with the help of Modi. But, the manner in which the differences were aired publicly and a high drama that followed it caused a dent in the image of the party, some senior party leaders here remarked.