Bitter friends

After the BJP won the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh on December 18, ecstatic party workers took to the streets in celebration, bursting firecrackers. On the same day, there were fireworks elsewhere, too. In Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, a bitter war of words broke out between the BJP and its senior coalition partner, the Telugu Desam Party.

BJP leader Somu Veerraju, a member of the state legislative council, said the BJP would no longer accept a raw deal from the TDP. Babu Rajendra Prasad, a TDP MLC, responded to the criticism and said the BJP’s wins in Andhra Pradesh were the result of the total support of TDP workers. The TDP has 103 seats in the legislative assembly and the BJP has got four. In the legislative council, the TDP has 30 and the BJP two seats. With assembly and Lok Sabha polls due in 2019, the TDP might just be the first party to pull out of the National Democratic Alliance.

The sleepy, scenic coastal city of Visakhapatnam is of particular importance for both the TDP and the BJP. Compared with other districts, the BJP has a significant presence here with an MP, an MLA and an MLC. Of the seven MLAs from the city, six are from the TDP. The office of P. Vishnukumar Raju, the BJP MLA from North Vizag, is abuzz with activity, although Raju is away in Delhi on official work. Party workers at the office are miffed that the TDP government is passing off Central government schemes as its own without even displaying the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on publicity pamphlets.

“We really don’t need the TDP in the next elections. We can win even without their support. We have strengthened our booth committees and we enjoy good support of local self-help groups,” said a BJP worker. Like many of his colleagues, he also felt that allying with the TDP was more of a financial burden. “BJP workers, especially those with an RSS background, do not expect money for campaigning. The TDP workers do not move until they are paid,” he said.

Not far away from Raju’s office is Vizag Defence Academy, one of the many educational institutions owned by Vasupalli Ganesh, TDP MLA representing South Vizag constituency. “The boss has instructed us not to talk anything about the BJP-TDP alliance,” said Ganesh, in an apparent reference to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. “We have a vote share of 55 per cent while the BJP has around 10 per cent. We are confident of winning even if we don’t have an alliance,” said Ganesh.

Naidu is proceeding cautiously. On the day Prasad made his comments against the BJP, he was in the Maldives. Within a few hours came reports that Naidu pulled up the MLC and that he instructed party leaders to be careful with their words.

The relations between the two parties have soured in the neighbouring East Godavari district, too. Although the TDP-BJP alliance won 35 of 48 seats in the Kakinada municipal elections held in September, the BJP accused the TDP of backstabbing. “We were given nine seats, but the TDP fielded its candidates as independents in those seats. Three of them won as they were backed by their party, spending a lot of money. Within a week of the results, they joined the TDP. How long should we tolerate this? Should we not grow as a party?” asked Veerraju who is from East Godavari.

A BJP leader put the blame on Naidu for the rupture in relations. “We know how to rein him in. If he continues to defame us, our leaders in Delhi know how to put him in a spot,” he said. Naidu has, at least twice in the recent past, tried to embarrass Modi. On November 30, he criticised the Central government for creating hurdles in the construction of the Polavaram irrigation project. Two days later, the assembly passed a bill guaranteeing the Kapu community 5 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions. The bill was sent to the governor for the approval of the Union government at a time when Modi was busy campaigning in Gujarat, trying to minimise the fallout of the Patidar reservation crisis. There are also reports about Modi refusing to meet Naidu, repeatedly denying him an appointment.

Amidst growing tensions, BJP state president Hari Babu, who represents Vizag in the Lok Sabha, said the two parties were on good terms and that they would contest the upcoming elections together. “There are TDP ministers in the BJP cabinet at the Centre and BJP ministers in the TDP government in the state. We are working together for the development of Andhra Pradesh. If any one in our party has problems with the TDP, we will discuss it in our internal meetings and address it,” he said.

While senior leaders are trying to play down the differences, party workers are in no mood to oblige them. “Had the BJP lost in Gujarat, we would have snapped ties with it by now. If it fares badly in Karnataka [elections in May], we are done with the BJP,” said a group of TDP workers.

Chalasani Srinivas, president of the AP Intellectuals Forum, said the next elections in Andhra Pradesh would be chaotic. “Had the TDP lost the Nandyal byelection in August, the BJP would have severed ties with it. Had the BJP lost in Gujarat, the TDP would have walked out of the NDA. There is no trust between them,” said Srinivas. “The TDP strongly believes that they will win next time only if they contest without the BJP. The BJP wants to emerge stronger in the state and is leaving no chance to show its superiority. Andhra Pradesh and its people will suffer because of such politics even as development of the new state takes a back seat.”