It’s testing time for Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu. Amid protests and resignation threats by party MPs over poor allocations to Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget, the strategy on handling the unyielding alliance partner BJP and the party back home could be a challenge for Mr. Naidu ahead of parliamentary party meeting on February 4.
The Chief Minister is expected to meet the party MPs at Grievance Hall at his residence in Vundavalli to discuss several issues surrounding the alliance, Central support and strategy ahead. The “dismal” allocations to Andhra Prdesh irked many MPs, and some of them have offered to resign during their conversation with Mr. Naidu after the announcement of the Budget.
Unlike such letdowns in the past, the present one is the penultimate one in terms of BJP showing “mitra dharma” towards the bifurcated State in the last of the Budgets. The party leadership has so far asked partymen to maintain restraint, but this time round, most MPs are not convinced about keeping quiet as there was pressure from their constituencies to deliver.
“Either saying goodbye or continuing with the alliance, it is going to be a major decision for the party president. Continuing alliance may not go down well with the MPs, as they feel it may have impact in elections. The ‘wait and watch’ stance of the party may not not hold good any more. Ending alliance may also be a big challenge, as it may not be safe considering the ground realities,” a top functionary in the government told The Hindu .
In contrast with the BJP’s promise of help to the tune of lakhs of crores, no substantial allocation was made to Andhra Pradesh beyond usual devolutions. According to a ballpark estimate, the entire financial help from the Centre so far is just over ₹5,000 crore which includes about ₹1,500 crore towards Amaravati capital city, ₹3,000 crore for Polavaram and other projects.
