The Bharatiya Janata Party sealed its alliance with the Telugu Desam Party on Saturday for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, with former chief minister of the southern state N Chandrababu Naidu asserting that the combine will sweep the polls.
Andhra HM Vangalapudi Anitha said she viewed Pawan Kalyan's remarks on her handling of the state's law and order situation in a constructive way.
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Monday expressed concern over the law and order situation in the state and said if he was the state home minister, 'things would be different', remarks seen as direct criticism of Vangalapudi Anitha, who is holding the department currently.
According to the National Democratic Alliance sources, the new government may allot five to six ministerial berths to the allies Janasena and Bharatiya Janata Party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, J P Nadda and several other leaders and prominent personalities were present at the ceremony.
Bookies are betting big this election. In Andhra Pradesh, the stakes have touched nearly Rs 10,000 crore over who would form the government in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (Seema-Andhra).
The Telugu Desam Party-Bharatiya Janata Party combine stormed to power in the residual state of Andhra Pradesh, commonly known as Seemandhra, as the Congress was virtually wiped out in the assembly polls, which were simultaneously held with the Lok Sabha elections.
Five years after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of a much younger Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telugu Desam Party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday was on course to lead his party towards a landslide victory in the Andhra Pradesh assembly polls, with allies Bharatiya Janata Party and Janasena Party (JNP) in tow.
Following the Bharatiya Janata Party-Telugu Desam Party alliance, tempers are flying high, with each side saying that they could manage without another. BJP supporters often question as to why their leadership does not break the alliance instead of putting up with TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu's tantrums. Vicky Nanjappa reports
The Telugu Desam Party-Bharatiya Janata Party combine on Friday appeared set for an impressive performance in Seemandhra by leading in about 90 Assembly seats, followed by YSR Congress in around 70, out of the total 175 seats in the region.
If the TDP fails to cash in on the Modi wave, the party would lose out to the newbie YSR Congress Party, believes chief Chandrababu Naidu
After stating openly that the Telugu Desam Party would fight the elections without the Bharatiya Janata Party in Seemandhra, TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu has now agreed to keep the alliance alive.
Despite having an alliance with the TDP, the BJP is considering a post-poll alliance with Jaganmohan Reddy's party. Vicky Nanjappa reports how the saffron party is considering a situation similar to UP where the BSP and SP lent their support to the UPA
Actor Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena Party, which was expected to put up a strong fight in Andhra Pradesh, came a cropper in the assembly elections, with the party chief himself trailing in both seats he contested.
Invoking Telugu pride, Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Thursday alleged that the United Progressive Alliance government has insulted Telugu people often and divided Andhra Pradesh without taking people into confidence.
Telugu film star and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan has launched a vitriolic attack on the Centre for denying special category state status to Andhra Pradesh.
Having been out of power for the last decade, not many gave Naidu a winning chance this time around. But the Telugu Desam Party chief proved his critics wrong on Friday.
Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to be elected to Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh in the by-election slated for July 3.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti, headed by K Chandrasekhar Rao, will form the government in Telangana, after results revealed that the party won 63 seats to clinch power in the 119-member assembly in Telangana.
The strong Bharatiya Janata Party-Telugu Desam Party combine in Seema-Andhra could upset the calculations of the YSR Congress in the region, but the TDP's biggest problem is rebellion from within. Vicky Nanjappa reports
All the major parties seem to be waiting for their rivals to blink first as forging alliances has apparently become a tricky affair in the newly-born state of Telangana, which has 17 parliamentary and 119 assembly constituencies that will go to polls on April 30.
Leaders from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh gave an exhaustive account of the reasons for the party's defeat to party general secretary Digvijaya Singh on Monday and enumerated the steps to be taken for rebuilding the party. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports.
His announcement came amid indications that the TDP, which recently pulled out its ministers from the Narendra Modi government, was toying with the idea of quitting the NDA.
Pawan Kalyan has proved that he is a bigger star in politics compared to his brother, megastar Chiranjeevi. However, despite being rivals on the political battlefield, the two brothers never entered into a slander match. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
The alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party may have been cemented, but the story is not over for YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy yet. "I will do business with anyone but the Congress," he said making his post poll intentions very clear, Jagan told mediapersons in Hyderabad, while saying that that he has big plans ahead for the new state of Seemandhra.
In Mizoram, opposition MNF likely to end 10-year Congress rule.
Already embroiled in Sushma Swaraja and Vasundhara Raje controversies, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government does not want to get caught in a petty fight between two regional parties.
The BJP, the same party which in 2009 had said, 'Give us power and you will have Telangana within 24 hours', seems to be finding the going a bit bumpy. Vicky Nanjappa tells you why
Barely a few hours after Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu said at a rally that his party would fight alone in Seema-Andhra, the TDP has gone into damage control mode and says the statement was misinterpreted.
'The feeling in Telangana is that without her a separate state cannot be created... All the MPs and MLAs from Seema-Andhra have a business background. Their interest is to save their business,' Congress MP K Raj Gopal Reddy, who played a key role in Thursday's turbulent events, tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.