Alleging that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had failed in fulfilling the promises it had made to the people in the run-up to the 2014 elections, BJP State General Secretary S. Suresh Reddy on Tuesday said that the TDP was trying to cosy up to its arch rival Congress for political gains.
“Since the inception of the TDP, the party had been an arch rival to the Congress. But, it’s now eyeing an electoral alliance with the Congress in view of the 2019 elections,” Mr. Suresh Reddy told the media here.
Referring to the ouster of the Telugu Desam from the NDA, he said, “Except for its first year in office, TDP had an uneasy relationship with the BJP as the regional party had been working all these years against the BJP’s interests, fearing the latter’s growing support base in Andhra Pradesh.”
Any vote for the TDP in the 2019 elections means strengthening the hands of the Congress, he said and denied reports that the BJP was toying with the idea of forging poll alliance with the YSRCP and the Jana Sena Party.
“The BJP will fight the 2019 elections on its own and emerge as a formidable force in Andhra Pradesh by highlighting the welfare schemes introduced by the NDA government,” he said.
He further alleged that having failed in fulfilling the poll promises made in 2014 including total loan waiver for farmers, the TDP broke its ties with the BJP with a year left for the general elections, only to mislead the people and cover up its failures.
Central assistance
Referring to the demand of according Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Suresh Reddy maintained that except for the change in the nomenclature, the Centre had ensured all benefits due to the State under the SCS.
“Even after parting ways with the TDP, the NDA government has provided funds of ₹1,400 crore through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to the Polavaram project and sanctioned another ₹900 crore for setting up of a central university at Anantapur,” he said.