Amidst clear indications that BJP-TDP alliance could be firmed up in the next few days, senior party leader M. Venkaiah Naidu asserted that any decision taken by the central leadership would be unanimous and everyone would abide by it.
Replying to question on the possibility of a tie-up with the TDP at a press conference here on Tuesday, Mr. Naidu said the State BJP leaders were discussing the issue among themselves and also with the national leadership. After discussions the national leadership would come to a conclusion, he added.
He mentioned that he had urged the central party not to involve him either in seat-sharing talks or in selection of candidates. As a result, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitely and senior leader Prakash Javadekar were dealing with the matter (with regard to Telangana and Seemandhra).
Meanwhile, Mr. Javadekar left here for Delhi in the morning to brief the central leadership on the outcome of the talks he had with Telangana and Seemandhra BJP leaders on the proposed alliance with the TDP. It is learnt that he had largely succeeded in convincing Telangana BJP president G. Kishan Reddy to agree to an alliance with the TDP in the region.
Mr. Reddy and a few other Telangana BJP leaders have been opposing a tie-up with the TDP and wanted the party to contest all the seats on its own. RSS too was on the same page with Mr. Reddy and wanted the party to occupy greater political space in the region.
Mr. Javadekar was believed to have firmly conveyed the national party’s view that this was not the time to “experiment” by going alone and that Telangana region must contribute MPs to ensure that the NDA returned to power with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. Subsequently, senior leaders -- Bandaru Dattatreya, K. Laxman, G. Kishan Reddy and Endala Lakshminaryana -- met and prepared a list of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies where they perceived the BJP to be strong and handed it over to Mr. Javadekar.
It is learnt that the BJP might demand about 60 Assembly and 10-11 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana once the alliance is finalised.
During his stay, the senior leader also reportedly interacted with TDP Rajya Sabha member Y. Satyanarayana Chowdhary and held a preliminary round of discussions. Party sources said Mr. Javadekar would return here in the next few days and the alliance could be sealed.
