Telugu Desam Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and JanaSena’s understanding in Andhra Pradesh was a tactical move of the TDP to gain back power in the state. On the other hand, the BJP’s idea of forging the alliance was to achieve its target of ‘Abki Baar 400 Paar’.
The seat-sharing agreement gave a clear indication of TDP — contesting on 17 seats out of 25 — and BJP’s larger goals. The latter has fielded candidates only on six seats.
Although JanaSena is part of the alliance (it has been given two seats), including Pawan Kalyan into the fray was to stop the party from eating on to the TDP and the BJP’s vote share.
Recent developments have laid bare the purpose of both the parties. Since they are fighting the elections in coalition, the manifesto is also expected to project the same.
However, in an utter embarrassment for the alliance. The coalition’s manifesto, namely, Prajagalam, misses out on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stamp, albeit it does contain imprints of N Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan, supremos of TDP and JanaSena, respectively.
The BJP’s representative and Andhra Pradesh election observer, Siddharth Nath Singh, was present at the manifesto launch programme. However, sources claim that he did not even hold the manifesto during its release and was just sharing the dais with the other two leaders.
This reminds us of the alliance’s 2014 manifesto which had stamps of all the three faces of the parties— PM Modi, Naidu and Kalyan.
Why this discrimination now? Are the two regional parties trying to sideline a national party, which does not have any hold in the state? After all, the BJP could not secure even a single seat during the 2019 general elections.
In another development, on Thursday, Naidu announced that he will provide 4 per cent reservation to Muslims if voted to power in the state.
Naidu’s declaration is opposite to the stance which the BJP is maintaining on Muslim reservation. The saffron party leaders through their high-octane speech — PM Modi, party’s national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah — have made it clear that they will end the reservation given to Muslims by the Congress once they come to power at the Centre.
The BJP is trying to safeguard the rights of Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities by ending the religion-based reservation given to Muslims, thereby consolidating its vote bank from them.
While the Congress and Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana opposing the BJP’s call against Muslim reservation finds resonance with the present political dialogue in the country, allies going against it underscores the fissures in the alliance. This is what is happening in Andhra Pradesh.
After the manifesto-launch ceremony, Naidu’s support to Muslim reservation has raised eyebrows. Is everything in place with the alliance? Or, the coalition is an eye-wash, eyeing elections?
Forging alliances to achieve political motives is not new in the political space of our country. However, exposing the loopholes even before the purpose is achieved is not the sign of intelligence.
When it comes to Naidu, this is not the first time he has aligned with the BJP to save his political career. In 2018, TDP chief had walked out of the National Democratic Alliance, citing Centre’s failure to provide special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
However, in the subsequent state and Lok Sabha polls, his existence was nullified when TDP managed to secure only 23 out of 175 seats in Assembly elections and sent just three MPs to the Parliament.
It is evident that the only alternative with TDP was to form an alliance with the BJP for polls in order to regain its lost shine.
The alliance for the BJP in Andhra Pradesh is to win Lok Sabha elections with the help of regional political parties which is why the party does not care about its stamp on the manifesto. However, a take on Muslim reservation in the state is expected for the saffron party.
And for Naidu, the alliance is based on two factors: First, to revive TDP and his career. Second, use the saffron party as a shield to restrict the YSR Congress, if it manages to retain power in the state.
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