Telangana BJP leaders oppose tie-up with TDP

HYDERABAD: BJP leaders from Telangana today opposed the electoral alliance with Telugu Desam Party and reportedly threatened to quit the party even as its central leaders were holding talks to finalise the seat-sharing deal.

District unit chiefs of BJP in the region today told the party's national-level spokesperson Prakash Javadekar that they would quit the party if it formed a tie-up with TDP for the April 30 elections.

Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy tried to pacify them by saying the national leadership would take an appropriate decision.

Javadekar and senior leaders Naresh Gujral and G Satish arrived in Hyderabad this morning to finalise the seat-sharing pact with TDP and met its president N Chandrababu Naidu at his residence. Senior leaders of TDP too were present at the meeting, sources said.

Chiefs of BJP's Telangana district units held a separate meeting at the party office and opposed the tie-up.

"TDP is overestimating its strength in Telangana. In fact, a tie-up with TDP will only be a loss to BJP," they said.

Seven out of ten district presidents reportedly threatened to resign.

The development forced Javadekar to rush to the BJP office to placate them. Senior leader Bandaru Dattatreya and other leaders were also present.

G Kishan Reddy said he would discuss the issue with the central leaders.

Till evening, there was no final word on the alliance from either party.