The BJP which did not care about the AP capital Amaravati until now has changed its stance for the last few days. A few days back the State BJP president Somu Veerraju said that their support was for Amaravati and that even the Prime Minister was in favour of Amaravati. On the contrary, the BJP speaking on the Amaravati issue said that Centre couldn’t intervene as the state government plays a crucial role in the matter. However, the Saffron Party defended itself saying that AIIMS will be in the capital city as the funds for the institution were being released by the Centre. The BJP’s representative Satya Murthy Vamaraju, who attended the Jana Bheri of the farmers agitating for the capital marking the completion of one year of protest, made sensational comments saying that the BJP wants the capital to be in Amaravati and the party would fight until justice is done to all the farmers.
The BJP government gave an affidavit in the court stating that the capital issue comes under the state government. It did not respond over the arrests of protestors in Amaravati. The BJP president Kanna Lakshminarayana who supported the agitation was removed from the post. Later, the post was given to Somu Veerraju, who used to target the TDP which is in the opposition instead of YSRCP which is in power. The political analysts said that there were three reasons for the sudden change in the stance of BJP.
For Tirupati?
There are different opinions on the stand of BJP on Amaravati. There are controversies on the capital city for which the prime minister had laid the foundation. The BJP leaders are afraid of the criticisms by the TDP and this would lead to the question mark on the credibility of the BJP. It can be said that the BJP wants to ensure people that they did not trust breakers and are trying to tell their stand. Still, the BJP leaders are not able to clarify whether they would get clear assurance from the Centre.
For grip on the district
The policy adopted by the YCP on Amaravati would hamper the prospects of the party in about 10 constituencies in the districts. The Congress has been decimated in the state and the TDP is likely to get the advantage. The BJP plan seems to target anti-YSRCP votes. In the coming days, there are elections to Tirupati Lok Sabha and local body elections. It can be assumed that the BJP wants to either win the elections or be second in these elections and try to be an alternative in the state and get sympathy from the people. It may be mentioned here that in the rally taken up to mark the 200 days of protest, the Hindu Maha Sabha representative Chakrapani Maharaj had participated. He said a Ram Temple on the lines of Ayodhya would be constructed in Amaravati. Later, rebel YSRCP leader MP Raghurama Krishnam Raju had announced a donation of Rs 1 lakh and BJP MP Sujana Choudhary too had announced Rs 10 lakh.
The party in power at the Centre can keep a political party close or away based on the political situations. As part of the strategy, it may bring pressure on the government. The BJP’s support to Amaravati would make the YSRCP unhappy. Jagan had recently visited Delhi and only after his visit the BJP leaders have increased their voice against the YSRCP government. This is the situation in Telangana too. The BJP leaders seem to have been told to take up the public issues against the local governments. This means the BJP applied breaks on Jana Sena and also TDP. Hence the BJP has changed their stance on Amaravati. However, it has to be seen whether the change in stance was for political statements or whether there is an action plan.
