Narendra Modi tried to do a tight rope walk in Hyderabad by saying Jai Telangana and Jai Seemandhra. In his speech, Modi tried to support Telangana statehood and also soothe the frayed tempers in Andhra. He also gave enough indications that BJP and TDP might end up having an electoral alliance.
When Modi’s Hyderabad meeting was originally planned a couple of months back, Congress was reluctant to take a decision on the Telangana statehood issue. BJP looked like the only hope for many youngsters of this region. BJP top bosses planned to cash in on the anti-Congress wave in Telangana region, by bringing in Narendra Modi. But, Congress party’s swift decision on the statehood left the BJP bosses high and dry.
In an attempt to make up for the loss in Telangana, Modi made an attempt to woo the Seemandhra voters by addressing their concerns. Another important aspect that everyone noticed was Modi’s direct signals for an alliance with TDP. Modi invoked memories of NTR and gave a call to TDP leadership to join BJP in overthrowing Congress party.
This is where many Telangana youngsters became suspicious about BJP’s ultimate game plan.
The situation in Telangana after Modi’s speech is summed up by this comment of an avid fan of Narendra Modi, who even sports Modi’s photo as his Facebook profile.
“The moment Narendra Modi took NTR’s name, I realized something was fishy. By the end of his speech, I was more or less convinced that BJP is cozying up to TDP. And I have immediately removed Narendra Modi’s photo from my FB profile”