MD Ilyas | Deccan Chronicle | 30 August, 2023
Telugu Desam chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu announced that the party would contest all 119 Assemby seats in Telangana state in the upcoming polls on its own, saying that an alliance with BJP may not be possible due to the short time remaining in the poll run-up.
He avoided a direct reply on electoral alliances in Andhra Pradesh and said that there was a lot more time to discuss political alliances in AP.
In an informal interaction with the media in Delhi on Tuesday, Naidu did not give clarity on the deliberations of political alliances and stated that internal talks with the BJP would not be revealed, dismissing all speculations.
“We should be involved in the development of the nation and time will decide how it is going to happen,” Naidu said, pointing out that the TD has a special affiliation with the politics at the Centre, given his party’s national ideology since its inception.
Naidu, saying that there was no clear leader in the I.N.D.I.A. coalition of Opposition parties, said he would adopt a wait-and-watch strategy on the front’s progress. Refusing to comment on who should lead the Opposition front, he, said there was no scope for the Congress to reemerge in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Concerning the Telangana elections, Naidu said that the TD constituted a committee to finalise the candidates as there is no time for discussion on the alliance with the BJP in Telangana. He did not clarify whether the Jana Sena, BJP and TD are in an alliance and stated that presently, he could not reveal any probable tie-up.
Claiming that all YSRC leaders were ready to join the TD, Naidu said that the YSRC would have no member left if the TD opened its doors. Terming Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy a “kid”, while comparing their political experience, he defended his stance against the BJP in the 2019 elections, claiming the only difference was over special category status (SCS) to AP.
Slamming the Jagan Mohan Reddy government, Naidu said the YSRC destroyed the capital of Amaravati by going ahead with its three-capital plan and ruined the Polavaram project, which is a lifeline to the state.
Naidu alleged that AP suffered more damage during the YSRC rule than during the state bifurcation. He said that AP would have emerged as the best state in the country if the Polavaram and interlinking of rivers works were completed.
