TS, AP wait for Gujarat poll to get things moving
TS and AP are both waiting for the Centre to decide on the delimitation Bill to increase the number of seats in their Assemblies among other issues.
Political issues concerning Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh are linked to the Gujarat Assembly polls in many ways. The two key BJP leaders — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah — are deeply involved in the Gujarat poll campaign, keeping all other decisions pending.
For example, approval for the fresh delimitation of Assembly seats in both the Telugu states has to be placed before Parliament, but Union home minister Rajnath Singh has conveyed to key leaders of TS and AP that nothing can be decided till the Gujarat Assembly elections are over.
The party’s two top leaders will be free after December 14, the second and final phase of the elections. The Parliament session begins the next day and both leaders will be busy attending to pending issues.
“The chances are 50:50 as far as delimitation is concerned. We may meet and bring pressure only after the Gujarat polls and not before,” said a Union minister of state in the Union Cabinet.
TRS and TD leaders, who are eager to have the delimitation Bill passed during the Winter Session of Parliament, believe the Gujarat results will be crucially important for all future decisions the ruling party makes.
“The BJP will win Himachal Pradesh hands down. If it wins Gujarat also, with over 115 Assembly seats, ModiShah will be unstoppable in their political decisions,” a senior TD leader said.
Political issues concerning Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states are linked to the Gujarat Assembly polls in many ways.
The two key BJP leaders — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah — are deeply involved in the Gujarat poll campaign, keeping all other decisions pending. “Only if the BJP loses or gets a simple majority will it start to think about strengthening allies and start listening to us,” the senior TD functionary said.
Apart from the delimitation Bill, the AP government wants the Centre’s financial assistance urgently for several of its projects, including the prestigious Polavaram project and the construction of the new capital city.
“Without help from the Centre, we cannot run the show in AP; we need the PM’s wholehearted support,” said a senior minister in the AP Cabinet.
He pointed out that more than 18 months have passed since Mr Modi gave an appointment to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Besides, the TD is concerned about the talk of a possible tie-up between the YSRC and the BJP in Andhra Pradesh. Relations between the TD and BJP in the state are not as friendly as they were a few months ago.
“Whether we need to take an aggressive stand on some issues is dependent on the outcome of the Gujarat polls,” admitted the AP minister.
Though not an ally of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, the TRS in TS wants the BJP to be strengthened in TS to counter its main rival, the Congress.
“We know the BJP is not growing in the state as was anticipated. We are concerned that the outcome of the Gujarat polls should not lead to the rise of the Congress. Our main political enemy is the Congress,” a senior TRS functionary opined.
While admitting that it’s not all rosy for the BJP as the Gujarat poll campaign progresses, a state spokesperson of the party said the rise of the BJP in Telangana state will get a boost once the party gets over 115 seats in Gujarat.
As far as the Congress is concerned, the rise of Mr Rahul Gandhi as AICC president and the improvement of the party’s prospects in Gujarat will strengthen it in TS.