Amid reports of YSRCP being absorbed into the NDA fold, BJP national secretary and Andhra Pradesh in-charge Sunil Deodhar on Tuesday denied that any such attempt was made by the saffron party.
“There is no question of forming an alliance with Jagan Mohan Reddy. BJP never reached out to them before July 7 cabinet expansion”, Deodhar told News18, adding that it is the YSRCP that is worried about its future prospects as Jagan is running out of funds and is in dire need of help from the Modi government.
Likening Jagan to Tipu Sultan, Deodhar said: “Allying with YSRCP will be against our ideology. Hindus are suffering under Jagan Mohan Reddy, he has been blatantly sponsoring religious conversions and building churches across the state”
Talking about BJP’s Mission South, Deodhar said the saffron party will be making inroads into Andhra Pradesh on its own merit. The party so far doesn’t have a single MLA in the state, while its ally Jana Sena has one.
“Our stance is clear. BJP’s only alliance in Andhra Pradesh is Jana Sena, and we are confident of our performance in both assembly as well as Lok Sabha elections,” Deodhar added
YSRCP too denies reports
Meanwhile, sources within the YSRCP have also dismissed the possibility of joining the NDA government but refused to clear the air on whether the Modi government offered them cabinet positions in the recent past.
“We have always offered issue-based support to the Modi government and will continue to do so. We want to maintain a cordial relationship with the Centre, but an alliance is far-fetched,” a YSRCP MP told CNN-News18.
With 22 MPs, YSRCP is the fourth largest party in Lok Sabha. In the 2019 assembly elections, it had secured a landslide victory by winning 151 out of 175 assembly seats. Explaining the reluctance behind joining the NDA government, another senior leader within the party said that Jagan’s core supporters come from SC, STs, minorities and backward communities
“We will be at the risk of upsetting our vote bank if an alliance with BJP is formed. The issue of special status is crucial to us. Our CM has reiterated that whoever supports Andhra’s special status will have our backing as well,” a YSRCP leader said.
Not with the BJP, or against
While a coalition may not be on the cards, YSRCP has consciously stayed away from the opposition’s efforts of setting up a united front to take on the BJP. A leader within the party said any joint effort involving the revival of Congress will not have Jagan’s support, owing to the bitter past between them.
A senior YSRCP MP said: “Various media outlets had falsely reported that YSRCP leaders attended Kapil Sibal’s dinner party, but we never did and we will never throw our weight behind such efforts as we have nothing to do with Congress”
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