Is the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) nursing any ambition to strengthen its roots in the truncated State of Andhra Pradesh?
Given the way the party leadershipis cringing before the Telugu Desam Party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, it is more evident that the BJP doesn’t want to cross the line drawn by its senior partner in the State.
The chief cause for this kowtowing by the BJP, which doesn’t need any partner at the Centre, in Andhra Pradesh is Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and his unflinching loyalty to his BFF (best friend forever) Chandrababu Naidu. Leaders in the BJP’s AP unit are not mincing words in asserting that Venkaiah Naidu will never let the BJP snap connections with the TDP, leave alone outgrowing it.
The mutual admiration society of Venkaiah and ChandrababuNaidus makes a mockery of friendship owing to the overindulgence in political eulogy, more by Venkaiah Naidu and less by Chandrababu. If the Union Minister opens floodgates to shower encomiums on the AP Chief Minister, he praises him to no end. Chandrababu Naidu is second only to NarendraModi when it comes to the gush of encomiums by Venkaiah Naidu.
“Whenever any BJP leader criticises the State Government or Chandrababu Naidu, immediately Venkaiah Naidu makes a tour of a few places in AP and goes overboard with full quota of praises for Chandrababu Naidu. The exaltation of AP Chief Minister goes on like the blowout of a natural gas well so that all criticism is nullified and even the stains are wiped,” a former Congress leader, who is now suffocating in the BJP, told Telugu360.
It was at the behest of Venkaiah Naidu that Modi described the troika of himself, Chandrababu and PawanKalyan as triple one during the electioneering. Caste equations too are effectively being considered in the State BJP. While SomuVeerraju, an MLC of the BJP, is a bitter critic of the Chief Minister, his influence is neutralised by Venkaiah Naidu. Though Purandeswari too is a critic of Chandrababu Naidu, she is being reined in due to numerous reasons that are extraneous to politics.
Another senior BJP leader, who also did not want to be named for the fear of being crushed politically, said that it was for this reason that Venkaiah ensured that Veerraju was prevented from becoming the State BJP president now. Even ParakalaPrabhakar had left the BJP because of Venkaiah’s surrender policy to the TDP those days, the leader recalled.
Now, Venkaiah has every reason to insulate Chandrababu Naidu from any criticism and be subservient to him. For, the former may have to seek an election to the RajyaSabha from Andhra Pradesh. Unless the BJP and the TDP are in pact, this would become well nigh impossible.
In fact, Chandrababu Naidu and some TDP leaders keep on launching fireworks at the BJP and the Centre for not being “kind enough” in doling out largesse to the State. The TDP was angered by the Rajahmundry public meeting of BJP chief Amit Shah who had listed out the numerous projects for which the Centre had sanctioned funds. The TDP rank and file was upset with it and tried to depict that the funds were just “notional”.
Whenever the relations are strained, Venkaiah Naidu brings some news to “force cheer” his pals of the TDP. As recently as a couple of days ago, he announced that the Centre had sanctioned a Regional Passport Office (RPO) for Andhra. The State BJP president, KambhampatiHariBabu, whose continuance hinged on the “blessings” of Venkaiah Naidu and “choice” of Chandrababu Naidu could not get the RPO to be positioned at Vizag. He also could not get the Railway Zone to Vizag, even though he represents the Visakhapatnam LokSabha seat.
Venkaiah Naidu’s latest statement that the Opposition somehow wanted to break the friendship between the BJP and the TDP is ridiculous, if not ludicrous. For, the BJP per se doesn’t have any strength in AP and that whether the TDP’s stock is taking hit or not will be known only at the hustings. Venkaiah tried his best to impress Chandrababu by depicting it as a small difference akin to the ones between any couple.
