Doors closed for alliance with Chandrababu Naidu: Andhra BJP chief

Andhra Pradesh BJP President Kanna Lakshminarayana on Tuesday reiterated Home Minister Amit Shah's stand that an alliance with Chandrababu Naidu and his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was ruled out, stating that the 'doors were shut'.

The BJP leader was responding to a statement made by Naidu, who said that it was the TDP, which was affected, after breaking off the alliance between the two parties.

Speaking at an event after flagging off the 'Gandhi Sankalpa Yatra' with Rajya Sabha MP T G Venkatesh, Lakshminarayana said that the BJP would emerge as an alternative to the ruling party in the state.

Speaking to reporters later, he said, "Chandrababu Naidu had allied with BJP the first time, after seeing the popularity of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Similarly in 2014, he approached Narendra Modi due to the latter's image."

"If we were to look at it, it seems that his main aim is to stop the BJP from growing in the state. Today, since we are growing strong, again he has made a statement and is trying to do the same," he added.

The TDP government, which was in alliance with the NDA, exited the coalition in March last year, over Special Category Status (SCS) not being granted to the state and other promises made at the time of bifurcation not being fulfilled.

Earlier this week, addressing party workers during his two-day visit to Visakhapatnam for strengthening the party in the region, Naidu had reportedly said that the party had clashed with the Centre for the people of Andhra, which led to TDP’s loss in the recent elections.

“Things would have been different if we had not created those differences," Naidu reportedly said.

In April this year, addressing a party rally at Narsaraopet in Andhra’s Guntur district, Amit Shah had said referring to Naidu, "There are indications that he may again try to join NDA but now we have shut the doors forever."