This Article is From Apr 17, 2014

Alliance in trouble, Chandrababu Naidu to speak to Narendra Modi today

Alliance in trouble, Chandrababu Naidu to speak to Narendra Modi today

Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu (File pic)

Hyderabad: The BJP's alliance with Chandrababu Naidu, considered a potential game-changer in Andhra Pradesh, is wrinkling at the last minute. Mr Naidu is expected to speed dial the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and president Rajnath Singh today.

State and national elections are being held simultaneously in Andhra Pradesh on April 30 and May 7. (India Votes 2014: Candidates | Schedule)

Mr Naidu, who heads the Telugu Desam Party or TDP, is reportedly worried that some candidates selected by the BJP for the state legislature are weak.  He feels that voters will reject not just them, but by association, his party's candidates for parliament as well, said sources.  (Elections 2014: Full Coverage)

The BJP has reportedly made it clear that he has no right to intervene in its choice of candidates. State leaders have for the record stated that "these minor irritants" in the 11-day-old alliance will be quickly smoothened. (Chandrababu Naidu's TDP seals the deal with BJP amid protests)

But TDP sources say they will give the BJP time till Saturday and if it does not withdraw the candidates, Mr Naidu may consider putting up his own candidates for the same constituencies.  He is also reportedly irked by the BJP's decision to grant a ticket for the national election to his sister-in-law and political rival, D Purandeshwari, who recently quit the Congress. (Alliance with BJP a political compulsion, says Chandrababu Naidu)

Political observers see this more as posturing and tough talk; the TDP, they say, has too much to lose by backing out of its pre-poll alliance with the BJP, seen as a frontrunner in the national elections.

Opinion polls show the BJP and Mr Naidu accruing a strong performance in the two regions collectively referred to as Seemandhra which will form the new and down-sized Andhra Pradesh once Telangana is carved out as India's 29th state on June 2.
.