Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Race between BJP, TDP and YSRCP in AP' that was published in Newsband

Race between BJP, TDP and YSRCP in AP

TDP is on a collision course with the BJP. The Telugu Desam Party decided to leave the National Democratic Alliance more to compete with the YSR Congress Party and less to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party. A no-confidence motion against the NDA government was moved by the TDP not to join hands with other parties against the BJP, but to isolate the YSRCP politically.

There is no danger to the NDA government. The BJP has the numbers to survive a no-confidence vote. TDP is just trying to show that it is more aggressive than the YSRCP.

The YSRCP had emerged after a split in the Congress. The YSRCP is not averse to a tie-up with the BJP. With an Assembly election looming next year the BJP looks like the biggest loser in the competitive regional politics of the TDP and the YSRCP. TDP was unable to use money allocated for welfare of states. BJP provided money for building secretariat and parliament in Andhra Pradesh but in a race to defeat YSR, TDP has taken such a decision.

The TDP, YSR-Congress, Pawan Kalyan’s Jama Sakthi and the BJP - if they all contest separately, there are chances of BJP winning in Andhra provided Ram Madhav, General Secretary of the BJP leads the party. There should be an able leader to enthuse, project and lead the party. Sri Ram Madhav can effectively do so. He could elaborate in the state language, Telugu, what has been so far offered to Andhra under special package how it has been made unaccountable by Naidu, the present CM. How long can the BJP be piggyback on some local party? It has to build on its own. It has to, in its campaign for 2019, enumerate the developmental issues to be taken up further. The BJP has to have a face. That should be an Andhraite Sri Ram Madhav.

Congress is still a political pariah in Andhra Pradesh. Whichever party touches it with a barge pole would be smashed by the people of Andhra. The BJP has lot of potential in Andhra to grow on its own but is stymied because of two reasons. 1. The TDP did ‘engagement and containment’ of the BJP so far. 2. The BJP didn’t put forward a capable leader or face to take forward their views both in Andhra and Telangana.

The TDP which was a part of the government till a few days ago and decided to leave NDA, by moving a no confidence motion against the same government points to pressure on Chandrababu Naidu exerted by YSRC of Jaganmohan Reddy in political arena of Andhra Pradesh. The Union government accused of denying the AP its due after reorganisation of the state and going back on commitments made at that time should also have been more responsive to the concerns of state. Presently the government has required numbers in Lok Sabha to defeat the no confidence motion but it will require support of regional parties after next general elections, not far away. The BJP is perhaps convinced that it will get majority of its own after next general elections. But if you go by results of by-elections in Hindi heartland the PM and Amit Shah can ill afford to ill-treat the allies for its own sake anymore.

For now it appears BJP is bigger loser. But after the elections it might also become the king maker if either TDP or YSRCP gets majority.