Denying AP special status won't hurt party: BJP

New Delhi: Heading into the election year, the BJP is supremely confident of victory in 2019, and sees its tally going up in many states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and even Kerala.

The BJP and the Shiv Sena are pitted against each other in the upcoming Palghar Lok Sabha by-election which is crucial to the BJP given that it is two seats short of majority in the Lok Sabha. “Even in 2014 we only had a post-poll alliance,” he said.

The Opposition bandying together at the swearing-in of JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy certainly did not seem to have fazed the BJP. Few of those parties have been part of the NDA except for the TD.

“How does it help to have Mamata or Mayawati campaign in Karnataka? What gains can be made if Kumaraswamy campaigns for Mamata,” is the argument to drive home the point that the regional leaders are overreaching themselves and have no constituency outside their respective states. 

As an aside, the BJP was not comfortable that Karnataka BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa had said he was not against the Congress but against the Gowda father-and-son pair. 

The leader laughed and responded, “Yes without the father and son duo the Congress would not be in power!”

With Karnataka out of its hands for now, the BJP will be focusing on Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state. The BJP is clear that there will be no pre-poll alliance in the two states.

BJP president Amit Shah is headed to the Telugu states and is confident of improving the BJP tally vastly in the Lok Sabha elections.

The party is dismissive of the charges laid against it by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The BJP does not believe that denying Andhra Pradesh Special Category Status will diminish its popularity. The party is clear that AP could get funds from the Centre only against spending. When drafts for Amaravati are still being drawn in Singapore and there is not a brick laid, the Centre could not release funds. “The government will release the funds as and when work begins,” he said.

Mr Naidu’s charge that Rs 44,000 crore was going towards making Dholera in Gujarat a Smart City against Rs 2,500 crore for Amaravati was dismissed outright. The government is not building any new city nor releasing funds for it in Gujarat, he said.

On the concerns of the southern states that the 15th Finance Commission was being unfair by alloting them lesser funds than the BIMARU states though their contribution in terms of taxes was higher, it was indicated that these would likely be addressed as the issues were before the Finance Commission.

The BJP seemed confident about the strides it was making in Kerala and West Bengal. The party is clear that it would win 22 seats in West Bengal and would spring a huge surprise in Kerala.

The troubling part is that the BJP does not believe that the campaign of threats and rapes against its critics is dangerous. It is dismissed lightly as something people in villages face routinely. In other words it will have no negative impact on the elections.