Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu hints at electoral alliance with TRS

HYDERABAD: IN a significant development, Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu has hinted at forging an electoral alliance with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, saying an electoral alliance is imperative for his party to survive in the state.

During his interaction with TDP’s TS unit cadre at NTR Bhavan here on Wednesday, Naidu said the BJP had unilaterally severed its ties with the TDP in Telangana, leaving only two parties with which the TDP could think of allying with. Of those two, one had fought for achieving statehood for Telangana while the other had done injustice to AP. “Forging electoral alliance is a must for the survival of the party in TS. We will decide with which party we should align for the next polls after holding thorough discussion in the party,” he said.

Interestingly, many party workers, who were present at the meeting, openly opposed the idea of an alliance with TRS. They even demanded the ouster of party Politburo member Mothkupally Narsimhulu, who had recently advocated TDP unit’s merger with TRS in the state. Some other leaders went further and threatened to commit suicide if the party joined hands with ruling party.

Even though party workers openly opposed any alliance with TRS, Naidu did not rule out the possibility. He only said that he would take a decision on alliance after eliciting the views of party cadres in the coming days. Thus, he indirectly lent credence to the speculation that TDP might join hands with TRS in TS when the next general election will be held.At the same time, Naidu is said to have expressed his disapproval for Narsimhulu’s suggestion of TDP-TRS merger in the state.

Naidu announced that he would henceforth hold meetings with party cadre in Hyderabad once a month and bestow more attention to the party’s TS unit in the run-up to polls. “TDP will remain in TS forever. It will not be merged with any party. All of you please put in efforts to revive the party in the state,” he called upon party cadres.

‘TS leaders should lead TTDP’
When some enthusiastic workers wanted Naidu to hand over the TTDP reins to film actor NTR Junior, Naidu turned down the proposal. “Leaders belonging to TS should lead the party here. None of the members of our family will be at the helm here,” Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu made it clear.