iD Desk
iD Desk
All is not well with the opposition TDP these days, particularly as talks over alliance with Jana Sena started. Several leaders in the TDP are opposed to the alliance with the TDP, while some welcome it but not in their constituency.
There is stiff resistance to the party going with the Jana Sena which as no vote bank. The leaders oppose party chief N Chandrababu Naidu banking fully on the Jana Sena where its chief could not win the elections in 2019. Pawan Kalyan had lost in the two seats that he contested in that election.
The TDP leaders say that they could win the elections all alone. They are opposed to the tie-up with the Jana Sena as there is a social division between the two parties – Kamma and Kapu. In several areas, the two castes do go hand in hand.
The two castes have decades old rivalry in several parts of the state, and they could not work together even if the two parties tied up. The leaders are opposed to the alliance between the two parties and want Chandrababu Naidu to go alone.
In some parts, the leaders want the alliance to continue but they are not ready to give their seat to the Jana Sena. Several leaders are opposed to giving their constituency to the Jana Sena in alliance. There are more than a dozen Assembly constituencies in the two Godavari districts where the TDP leaders are not ready to give their seats to the Jana Sena.
They are voicing against the party leadership giving their constituency to the Jana Sena. Most of the leaders have the same feeling that the alliance should continue, but not in their constituency. If the party gives such constituencies to the Jana Sena in alliance, there is all likelihood of the leaders quitting the party or ensuring the defeat of Jana Sena.
The party leaders in Tenali Assembly constituency in Guntur district are up in arms against giving this segment to Jana Sena. Jana Sena senior leader Nadendla Manohar is planning to contest from here and is strongly lobbying for the seat in alliance.
But senior TDP leaders like Alapati Rajendra Prasad, who won the seat in the past, is opposed to the party giving this seat. He is threatening to quit the party along with his supporters if the seat is given to the Jana Sena.
There are several other seats where the TDP leaders are firm on contesting and not ready to give up them to the Jana Sena in alliance. It is to be seen what these leaders would do once the seat sharing is finalized between the two parties.
