TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu (File photo)
Hyderabad:
Narendra Modi's BJP is looking up old friends as it attempts to consolidate in the months before general elections 2014. Can it manage to win back old ally Telugu Desam Party or TDP?
TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu would not say on Sunday whether he is ready to do business with Mr Modi, who has been named his party's presumptive PM for next year. But he did say, "I am not ruling out anything." He met BJP president Rajnath Singh on Saturday and said, "Now, we have to play a positive role."
Mr Naidu, who once served as a convenor of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance or NDA, accuses the Congress of pushing Andhra Pradesh into crisis by the manner in which it has announced a separate Telangana state. "Right now, I am here for my people. The Congress has pushed the country into a crisis and we will take our decision in national interest," said Mr Naidu. (Watch)
He also alleged that the Congress is "playing politics with our people. For over two years, they let Telangana boil and now other parts of the state. They say TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samiti) will merge and are hoping Jagan (Mohan Reddy) will join them after elections."
Mr Naidu has, in the past, regretted continuing support to the NDA government after the Gujarat riots of 2002. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's detractors accuse him of not doing enough to prevent the death of hundreds of Muslims in the communal riots under his watch.
The BJP has already lost a key ally in the Janata Dal United over the rise of Mr Modi in the party.
Last month, at a public meeting in Hyderabad, Narendra Modi had invoked the legacy of Mr Nadiu's father-in-law NT Rama Rao, idolised by many in Andhra Pradesh, and said the most fitting tribute to him would be to oust the Congress. "Telugu Desam, which carries NTR's legacy, must see that his dream is realized," Mr Modi had said.
The BJP's front man has also reached out to rebels like BS Yeddyurappa in Karnataka, who had quit the BJP last year, but says now, with Mr Modi at the helm, he is ready to align with his old party.
TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu would not say on Sunday whether he is ready to do business with Mr Modi, who has been named his party's presumptive PM for next year. But he did say, "I am not ruling out anything." He met BJP president Rajnath Singh on Saturday and said, "Now, we have to play a positive role."
Mr Naidu, who once served as a convenor of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance or NDA, accuses the Congress of pushing Andhra Pradesh into crisis by the manner in which it has announced a separate Telangana state. "Right now, I am here for my people. The Congress has pushed the country into a crisis and we will take our decision in national interest," said Mr Naidu. (Watch)
He also alleged that the Congress is "playing politics with our people. For over two years, they let Telangana boil and now other parts of the state. They say TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samiti) will merge and are hoping Jagan (Mohan Reddy) will join them after elections."
Mr Naidu has, in the past, regretted continuing support to the NDA government after the Gujarat riots of 2002. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's detractors accuse him of not doing enough to prevent the death of hundreds of Muslims in the communal riots under his watch.
The BJP has already lost a key ally in the Janata Dal United over the rise of Mr Modi in the party.
Last month, at a public meeting in Hyderabad, Narendra Modi had invoked the legacy of Mr Nadiu's father-in-law NT Rama Rao, idolised by many in Andhra Pradesh, and said the most fitting tribute to him would be to oust the Congress. "Telugu Desam, which carries NTR's legacy, must see that his dream is realized," Mr Modi had said.
The BJP's front man has also reached out to rebels like BS Yeddyurappa in Karnataka, who had quit the BJP last year, but says now, with Mr Modi at the helm, he is ready to align with his old party.
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