After emerging as the single largest party in the Karnataka Assembly elections, the BJP in a stern warning to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that the people had rejected his politics.
Taking to Twitter, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav said, “In Karnataka, TDP and Chandrababu Naidu have used all tactics to dissuade Telugu voters from supporting the BJP. But in Hyderabad-Karnataka region, where most Telugus live, BJP has increased its tally from 6 to 20+. People have rejected CBN’s politics. Our southward march has begun.”
The BJP leader was referring to the performance of the party in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which was once ruled by the Nizams of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. Besides being one of the least developed regions in the state, the Hyderabad-Karnataka region has several Telugu voters who have settled in the area over several decades in constituencies across the districts of Bidar, Raichur and Ballari.
The area has always traditionally been a Congress bastion with the party having several loyal voters.
With the BJP bagging several seats in the region, it can be seen as the party making a strong entry into the far-flung regions of the state.
In the last week of April, Andhra CM Naidu urged Telugu voters in Karnataka not to vote for parties which have meted out ‘injustice’ to the people of Andhra.
The Telugu people in Karnataka should oppose those who did injustice to the people of AP. The Centre has been playing games and hatching conspiracies against the state. Governor Narasimhan went to Delhi soon after meeting me in Vijayawada. This gives rise to suspicion whether the Centre is up to some mischief with regard to AP.CM Chandrababu Naidu, TNM quoted him saying in TOI reports.
This had followed a statement by AP Deputy Chief Minister KE Krishna Murthy, who held a press conference in Bengaluru and told Telugu voters to “vote for anybody but the BJP.”
The comments had not gone down well with the state unit of the BJP causing embarrassment to the Telugus.
The problem is people are not taking Naidu seriously anywhere. His chapter is finished. He lies whenever he opens his mouth. The people have also realised this. If it doesn’t work in Karnataka, we can still say it is okay. However, it is not even working in Andhra Pradesh now. In 2019, BJP will play a major role in forming the government in the stateBJP MLA P Vishnukumar Raju to TNM.
However, the TDP dubbed the statement ‘unfair’.
“Karnataka is a linguistic state. The Kannadigas will think about the interests of their own state. There was anti-incumbency against the present government, which gave an advantage to the BJP as they didn’t see a viable alternative. They didn’t believe that JD(S) could fill that gap,” TDP national spokesperson E Peddi Reddy told TNM.
Pointing out that Karnataka always alternates between governments, Reddy added, “The Telugu people might have voted against the BJP, but their representation may not have been enough. Besides, the Chief Minister never asked people to vote for the Congress. He asked them to vote against the BJP that has cheated Andhra Pradesh,” Reddy added.
The TDP and the BJP have been sparring ever since the former pulled out of the NDA alliance to protest its refusal to grant the Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh. Naidu accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of going back on the promises he made during the 2014 elections.
(This article was first published by The News Minute. It has been republished with permission.)
(The Quint is now on WhatsApp. To receive handpicked stories on topics you care about, subscribe to our WhatsApp services. Just go to TheQuint.com/WhatsApp and hit send)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)