There is absolutely no doubt about the fact that BJP is keen on making inroads into South India including Andhra Pradesh.
Till date however, the party has not done anything for AP in terms of delivering what was promised to the State at the time of bifurcation. There are two possible reasons for this:
Narendra Modi does not like Chandrababu Naidu who had called for Modi’s resignation after Godhra riots and had even threatened to arrest Modi if the latter set foot in Hyderabad way back then.
The BJP and RSS are firmly convinced that any help extended to Andhra Pradesh will only go into the coffers of Chandrababu Naidu and his community and not to the people. Besides, Naidu and Co will also walk away with all the credit.
While Modi was basking in the glory of having become the Prime Minister, Naidu repeatedly made statements saying that he was asked on many occasions to lead the NDA but refused as he wanted to develop Andhra Pradesh first. Thus, indirectly, Naidu had projected himself as a direct threat to Modi.
Now, armed with the strength of the entire media at his disposal, Naidu has launched a full-scale frontal assault on the BJP and even supported the Congressmen in Karnataka financially apart from having Ashok Babu and small-time actor Shivaji work against the BJP interests there.
In short, Naidu and his media army is whipping up a frenzy of hate against BJP in Andhra Pradesh 24/7 making one wonder whether the BJP will meet the same fate as that of Congress in 2014 in AP.
In response, if one expected the BJP to announce something for AP, then they will be highly surprised.
What’s more, the BJP has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying that steel plants at Bayyaram and Kadapa are not viable and the AP Reorganization Act had only promised to consider the feasibility of setting up steel plants there.
Needless to say, this affidavit will further anger the people of Andhra Pradesh and TDP will make ample use of this issue. So, how can the BJP with this sort of blunt talk expect to make any inroads into the hearts of the people of Andhra Pradesh?
It’s strategy regarding Andhra Pradesh is very confusing indeed.
