Chandrababu Naidu May Quit PM's Coalition, Back Rival Jagan's No-Trust Move

Hyderabad: N Chandrababu Naidu, whose relationship status with the BJP has been complicated for weeks, may finally call it off and then back bitter rival Jaganmohan Reddy's no-trust motion against the centre.

Top leaders of Mr Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will meet today and could announce the party's exit from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), sources say.

The TDP's support to the no-confidence motion moved in parliament on Thursday by Jagan Reddy's YSR Congress is designed as a signal that the party is willing to back its political rival for the sake of Andhra Pradesh.

Last week the TDP pulled its two ministers out of the central government but had stopped short of walking out of the alliance.

This morning, Mr Naidu addressed his party parliamentarians in Delhi through teleconference and reportedly said Wednesday's bypoll results in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar reflected an anti-Modi and anti-BJP wave.

Sources say the Chief Minister told his lawmakers that the BJP was trying to do a Tamil Nadu in Andhra Pradesh. The BJP, he reportedly also said, was using both Jagan Reddy and Jana Sena boss Pawan Kalyan to deny Andhra Pradesh its due.

Later in parliament TDP lawmakers raised loud protests, forcing the Rajya Sabha to adjourn twice.

Mr Naidu has been furious with the centre for not granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh as promised after Telangana was carved out of it in 2014. Special status will mean a large infusion of central funds to help with the state government's plans to develop its new capital Amravati.

Mr Naidu was more upset after Pawan Kalyan, at a public meeting in Mangalgiri on Wednesday, focused all his criticism on the TDP and the chief minister. Mr Kalyan directly accused Mr Naidu's son Nara Lokesh, who is a minister in Andhra Pradesh, of corruption.

Mr Kalyan also accused the chief minister of having struck a deal with the BJP, agreeing to a special financial package instead of insisting on special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

The centre had earlier turned down Mr Naidu's demand for special category status to Andhra Pradesh saying the nomenclature had been done away with, except for hill states and states in the Northeast. But Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had promised the state funds equivalent to what a special category state gets.