The BJP on Friday said that the exit of TDP from the NDA was "inevitable after its mischievous propaganda against the Centre" and asserted that the latter's exit is "a timely opportunity" for the saffron party to grow in Andhra Pradesh.
"TDP's decision to quit was inevitable after its mischievous propaganda against the Centre," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said in a tweet.
"People of Andhra Pradesh have now realised that the Telugu Desam Party is resorting to lies to cover up its inept and inert governance. Far from being a threat, TDP's exit is a timely opportunity for the BJP to grow in Andhra Pradesh," Rao said.
The BJP leader's remarks came soon after the TDP announced its exit from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the Centre's refusal to award special status category to Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to ANI, the BJP leader continued, saying, “We believe that the TDP is finding the going tough in AP. They are seeing a defeat for themselves in 2019 and they want to use this as an alibi to really retrieve lost political ground. Question being asked in AP as to why the CM took 4 years to realise that this is not working.”
“The state government and TDP are feeling the pinch of the public opinion going against them and BJP will use this as an opportunity to grow as a political party and emerge as a dominant political force in Andhra Pradesh. For us, it will prove to be the next Tripura,” he added.
The TDP on Friday was also set to move a no-confidence motion against the Centre in Lok Sabha.
Chief Minister and TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu took these decisions during a teleconference with politburo members, senior party leaders and MPs on Friday.
Immediately after the decision, TDP, which has 16 members in the Lok Sabha, submitted a notice to the Speaker to move the no-confidence motion.
Party MP Thota Narasimham told reporters that they were collecting signatures of 54 MPs, which is required to move the no-trust motion.
On March 8, the TDP had pulled its two Ministers -- Ashok Gajapathi Raju and YS Chowdary -- out of the Narendra Modi government but had stopped short of walking out of the alliance.
IANS inputs