TDP-BJP alliance to continue for now, but Andhra government firm on demand for more funds

Upset with the Narendra Modi government for 'ignoring' Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget, the state government said that it will continue to put pressure on the Centre for additional funds.

AMARAVATI: The decision of whether the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will end its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been put on hold. The decision was taken when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met TDP members at the party's Parliamentary Board meeting in Amaravati on Sunday. 

Upset with the Narendra Modi government for the funds allotted to the state in the Union Budget, Andhra government said that it will continue to put pressure on the Centre for additional funds to the state.

"During the meeting Budget and fund allocations to Andhra Pradesh were discussed. We will continue pressurising the Centre for it. We will also raise the matter in Parliament, if needed," Andhra Minister YS Chowdary said after the meeting.

The minister also denied reports of the CM speaking to BJP President Amit Shah or Shiv Sena. "CM N Chandrababu Naidu did not speak to Shiv Sena. There has been no communication between Amit Shah and the CM either," Chowdary said.

Naidu is upset with the allocation of funds for the state in the Union Budget 2018 despite its request for additional funds.

The TDP is BJP's biggest ally in the South. The two parties had fought the 2014 elections in alliance where the TDP had emerged as the second largest party in the NDA in terms of seats won. 

After Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the Budget on February 1, several TDP leaders had suggested that the party should break away from the alliance.

Naidu had reportedly expressed "serious displeasure" over the budget and had said that the Centre ignored the state. "Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad got a substantial allocation for various projects but none of our projects, including the Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam Metro rail, got anything," he was quoted to have said at the meeting.

"At the time of the state bifurcation, I was the only one who demanded equal treatment to both the states. Though gross injustice was done to Andhra on account of bifurcation, I aligned with the BJP only because having good relations with the Centre could undo the injustice," Naidu apparently told the TDP leaders.