Marthi Subrahmanyam
Vijayawada
Though the Graduate MLC constituency election results have infused a lot of confidence in the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leadership is still looking at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for an alliance.
The TDP has won the Graduate MLC constituency seats with the support of the Left parties. At the same time, the BJP secured votes less than the invalid votes in the MLC elections, which reflects the pathetic state of the BJP. At the same time, the Left parties fared well in the MLC elections despite the defeat of the candidates they supported.
Interestingly, it seems, the TDP leadership is still looking at the BJP restoring the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance. Will the TDP go with the BJP or with the Left parties? This has become a hot topic not only in the TDP but also in other parties.
In fact, the Left parties have no vote bank anywhere in the State but their ideology still exists among people. The Left party has been carrying out a relentless fight against the privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) and against the anti-people policies of the YSRCP government. The TDP and YSRCP are hesitant to raise their voices against the Modi-led Centre on the issues.
TDP leaders admitted that the Left parties played a vital role in the TDP-supported candidate’s victory in the MLC elections. The Left parties and their affiliated outfits worked together with the TDP for the victory of TDP-supported candidates.
“If the TDP had focussed seriously on the Teachers’ constituency elections and taken the support of Left parties, it would have won the two seats also,” a senior TDP leader felt.
“Some senior leaders in the TDP are of the view that the party should contest the next elections in alliance with the Jana Sena and Left parties. There will be no use for the TDP to align with the BJP as the saffron party has no strong cadre in the State,” a senior leader stated.
However, TDP leadership still wants an alliance with BJP keeping in view other reasons. The TDP leadership hopes that the BJP will come to power at the Centre again in the next elections. If the TDP goes ahead without the BJP, it will help the YSRCP in the State as the BJP may align with Jagan’s party, he said.
There is no need for the TDP to carry the BJP on its shoulders. Kanna Lakshminarayana quit the BJP after realising that he had no political future as long as he was in the BJP, a senior TDP leader pointed out.
Moreover, some TDP leaders warned the party leadership that if it joined hands with the BJP that would alienate the Muslims’ votes. Against this backdrop, some TDP senior leaders favour maintaining a distance from the BJP.
“Somu Veerraju is still continuing as the State president since the BJP central leadership has no firmness to make the party stronger in AP. The people of AP believe that the BJP betrayed AP in VSP privatisation, railway zone, SCS, and other issues,” a TDP senior leader commented.
Former MLA and BJP senior leader P Vishnu Kumar Raju made it clear that the people of AP are under the impression that the BJP is working with the YSRCP. The BJP is not fighting against the YSRCP’s ‘anti-people’ policies strongly.
