Hyderabad::
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy today sparked a row with his comment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo has been removed from the cover of the joint manifesto of arch-rival Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena Party “after a phone call from Delhi”. NDA leaders termed his comment as an attempt to “create a rift” within the alliance. What was not explained was a video of the manifesto release ceremony, after which BJP state chief Siddharth Nath Singh refused to accept a copy.
Later, Jagan Mohan Reddy said, “In an earlier version of the manifesto, photographs of Chandrababu Naidu were prominently displayed next to those of Prime Minister Modi”.
“But before Mr Naidu unveiled his manifesto today, he received a call from the BJP headquarters saying that it is not acceptable to have Prime Minister Modi's photo on it. This incident only underlines how unachievable his promises are,” he added.
However, Mr Naidu later provided an explanation. The NDA, he said, has a manifesto at the national level. The TDP and Jana Sena are now releasing this manifesto in consultation with the BJP. The manifesto contains the positions of all parties, he said.
Mr Naidu had returned to the NDA earlier this year – almost six years after he defected to protest the BJP's refusal to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh. His return was aimed at keeping Mr Reddy's ruling YSR Congress at bay.
It is expected that the alliance with the BJP and Pawan Kalyan would consolidate the votes of those disillusioned with Jagan Reddy's government.
Mr Naidu has said at a meeting that this year will be his last election if the Telugu Desam Party is not voted to power.
The TDP, which won 15 of the state's 25 seats, dropped to three in 2019 after quitting the NDA.