Why PM Modi let TDP move away from BJP?

Questions may be asked about the ability of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP to manage its allies- like the Shiv Sena and now the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)- under the NDA since the 2014 mandate.

But what has come clear to many BJP leaders is that more than the dexterity of the top leaders, it's their unwillingness to deal with the "pressure tactics" of recalcitrant allies that has set their relationship's tenure.

Behind the final parting of ways between the TDP and the BJP lies Modi's decision of not giving into Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's "pressure tactics" to force the Centre to part with more money- without questions on fiscal displine and probity, they say.

As the crisis brewed, Modi, who held strategy sessions with key central ministers in the run-up to the TDP's move, decided that no political point would be served by engaging Naidu on his "ever growing" financial demands.  

His politics was compelling him to go on a belligerent course  as the TDP expected him to come with more money before tangible results could be got from the already spent funds.

Though his publicly stated grievance is that New Delhi went back on its promise on granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh, senior BJP ministers insist that the "real issue" is that Naidu is no more willing to let the Centre exercise supervision amid criticism on the money spent by the state government so far.

The Centre has been at the receiving end of many complaints including from the state governor and its own monitoring agencies, which have highlighted instances of irregularities and non-receipt of "utilisation certificates" of allocations already made over the last three years.

In what the BJP leaders saw a replay of the 2014 campaign when Naidu made the Congress the principal villain for bifurcating the state into Andhra Pradesh and Telganana, Naidu wanted to approach his voters in 2019 with the plank that the BJP played spoilsport in his mission to "develop" the state.

"This was the only way he felt he could thwart serious challenge posed by rival Y S R Congress led by Jagmohan Reddy" said another senior BJP minister.

Four years ago, the TDP-BJP alliance won the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections and 17 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats from the state.

Officially, the BJP has called the TDP's latest move as an "inevitable" one, saying it offers a "timely opportunity for the BJP" to grow in Andhra Pradesh.

But challenges lies ahead for the BJP in the state.

From 1996 to 2004, Naidu exuded power– first as the convener of the United Front and thereafter as the support provider to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government from outside. But since 2014 mandate to Modi, Naidu has had difficult innings, TDP leaders say.