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Journalism of Courage
Despite being the second largest constituent of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre with 16 MPs, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is seemingly not pulling its weight and has just one expectation from the Union Budget – fulfillment of promises made to the state under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
Sources told The Indian Express that the TDP’s “minimal demands” are a result of the Centre “aiding the state in bagging pivotal projects” recently. This time, sources said, the TDP has sought budgetary allowance for the South Coastal Railway Zone, metros for Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, and funds for already commissioned projects like the Polavaram irrigation project and the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) refinery.
“We have been getting projects as we have actively been liaising with the Centre over the past year. Since assuming power, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and our party chief N Chandrababu Naidu has tasked each of the 16 MPs, including two Union ministers, with following up on investments which the state is interested in,” a source in the TDP said and added that the move has shown “tangible” results.
For instance, over the past two months, Andhra has sealed four major investment projects worth Rs 71,400 crore. These include deals worth Rs 65,000 crore and Rs 2,000 crore with Reliance Industries Ltd and Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd, respectively.
Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have accorded high priority to the state. Earlier this month, he inaugurated projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore in Visakhapatnam and subsequently held a roadshow in the city with Naidu and Andhra Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan by his side.
While the optics of the investments trickling in seem to favour the TDP, the Opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has been slamming the Naidu government for failing to get Special Category Status (SCS) for the state. SCS was promised to Andhra before Telangana was carved out of it in 2014 and still continues to resonate in its political discourse.
TDP sources, however, claim that Andhra does not need SCS as the state government was able to get “over and beyond what it coil have with SCS”. “We are not insisting on SCS as another key ally, the JD(U) would want the same for Bihar, given its ‘backwardness’. This will put the BJP in a spot and neither of the allies want that at this stage,” a political analyst close to the TDP said.
The TDP’s “minimal demands” also stem from the criticism that the NDA faced last year from Opposition quarters for announcing a “biased” Budget, which had special packages for Bihar and Andhra, including Rs 15,000 crore for developing Amaravati as the capital.
“We do not wish to bring the alliance under scrutiny but we will continue to fulfil promises made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act,” a TDP source said.
Claiming that the promises in the Act have sentimental values of people attached to it, the source pointed out that the TDP may face backlash if they remain unfulfilled. “The sentiment stems from the fact that Andhra was wronged as the cash-rich Hyderabad went on to become the capital of Telangana,” the source added.
