Opposition pressure further strains TDP-BJP relations in Andhra Pradesh

Centre ignores Naidu's package demand; YSRC adds to his discomfiture

YSR Congress President Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy last Monday had a meeting with party leaders, including MPs, at the end of the 85th day of his Pad Yatra, to decide the course of action in their fight against the injustice allegedly meted out to Andhra Pradesh by the Centre. 

The Centre, they say, has not kept promises made to the state at the time of its bifurcation in 2014.

A standard narrative used by the state’s only opposition party that representation in the assembly and Parliament is that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has failed to get the Centre to honour its promises, though his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance.

The media hype over Reddy’s meeting was so great that people expected some dramatic move from the party.

At the end of the meeting, leaders said the party had decided to intensify its fight for special category status and would protest at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi, on March 5, the day Parliament reconvenes. 

That was not all. On Tuesday, Jagan Mohan announced his MPs would resign on April 6 if the Centre did not promise to extend special category status to Andhra Pradesh by the end of the current session of Parliament. The move is intended to push the TDP into the defensive before the Assembly elections in 2019. This is the challenge the TDP leadership is trying to fend off. 

Earlier this month TDP members protested in Parliament, voicing Naidu’s displeasure at “cold shouldering” by the Centre.

As this episode came weeks after Naidu submitted a 17-page memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 12, it looked like the end of the road for this uneasy partnership between the TDP and BJP.

On several occasions in the past, MPs from Andhra Pradesh have clashed in Parliament on the issue of special category status. However, the ruling TDP relented on this demand in September 2016, when it was assured of a special financial package. But the YSR Congress is seeking to make it a key plank in the next elections.

Keeping up the pressure, TDP leaders continued their criticism of the Centre’s “ill treatment” of Andhra Pradesh even after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in Parliament he would resolve all differences on calculating the amount of assistance to be given under various heads by the Centre.

For instance, the state government has been seeking Rs 75 billion in assistance from the Centre on bridging the revenue deficit for the 10-month period in the first year of bifurcation (2014-15), while finance ministry officials calculated it was Rs 40 billion. 

The state is also saying it was entitled to Rs 164.47 billion, under a special package for the five-year period though according to the Centre, it is about Rs 120 billion.

Leaders of the state had even asked for an independent committee headed by former RBI Governor Y V Reddy to decide on the amount of assistance. Naidu roped in some NDA partners such as the Akali Dal to come out in support of his demands.

To counter the TDP campaign that the Central government had not done anything for the state, the BJP’s Andhra Pradesh president, Hari Babu, gave a 27-page reply to the issues raised by Naidu’s party soon after Parliament was adjourned. BJP MP Gokaraju Gangaraju has said the public spat could cause irreversible damage if TDP leaders continue to make accusations against the Centre. 

Naidu’s disappointment is not limited to financial matters. He repeatedly requested the Centre to increase the number of assembly seats to 225 from the present 175. But the Centre has taken no action so far.

Naidu also wanted the Centre’s help to increase the percentage of reservations in education and employment in the state because he wants to fulfil his promise of giving backward caste status to the Kapu community, a crucial vote bank. 

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said no demand for reservations will be entertained if it seeks to exceed the 50 per cent reservation limit.

“Naidu is wise enough to understand the circumstances he is in now. He is no more chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, which used to send 42 members to the Lok Sabha,” a senior BJP leader told Business Standard.