CHANDRABABU EXPRESS DISPLEASURE AGAINST BJP

Endorsing reports that there was a "strain" in the alliance with BJP in Andhra Pradesh, Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu today publicly expressed displeasure over the selection of candidates by the saffron party for the May 7 elections. He, however, did not say whether the alliance would continue or break. "We have aligned with the BJP to see that Narendra Modi becomes the Prime Minister and rid the country of the corrupt and inept Congress rule. The alliance was also in the interests of our state. But somehow the BJP has fielded very weak candidates in some places which will only benefit the rival parties," Chandrababu lamented, addressing a public meeting at Parvathipuram in Vizianagaram district this evening. He said corrupt forces like the YSR Congress should not be allowed to take advantage of the situation. Chandrababu, however, did not talk further on the alliance. But leaders of the two parties were hopeful that there would be no threat to the alliance "at this stage" as the misgivings would be sorted out. BJP AP unit president Kambhampati Haribabu told reporters in Visakhapatnam, where he is the Lok Sabha candidate, that some "small misgivings" were common between political parties. "Our alliance will not only continue but also win the elections handsomely. All issues between us will be sorted out by the top leadership," Haribabu said. TDP sources here said Chandrababu is returning to Hyderabad late tonight to discuss the alliance issue with BJP leader Prakash Javadekar. The TDP President was supposed to fly to Krishna district tomorrow morning after an overnight stay at Visakhapatnam. But he is coming to Hyderabad to sort out the impasse over the alliance and will go to Krishna district from here tomorrow. The TDP has allotted 15 Assembly and five Lok Sabha seats to the BJP in Andhra Pradesh as part of the alliance but the national party itself reduced one seat each and announced its candidates. The TDP leadership at the local level sent an alarm over the BJP's choice of candidates in particular Assembly segments saying the nominees were "too weak".