BJP may not back Telangana Bill

Manmohan Singh on Wednesday had invited BJP leaders for lunch to seek their support for the Telangana Bill

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s efforts to reach out to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and create the state of Telangana might yield no result.

The Bill is to be presented in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, by convention.

Without the support of the BJP, the government will not be able to ensure the passage of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, as it lacks the numbers. Other than the BJP, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress are also against the division.

The BJP leadership sees no reason to enable the ruling coalition to get political benefit of the bifurcation. The Congress eyes getting the support of the parties who will gain if the state is bifurcated, Telangana Rajya Samiti (TRS) being the principal one.

Singh on Wednesday invited BJP leaders for lunch to seek their support for the Bill. The leaders are believed to have said they will provide support if the concerns of the Seemandhra region are addressed. It is unlikely the government or the BJP will be able to reach any middle ground. According to a Rajya Sabha member of the BJP, not present at the lunch, the party was unlikely to vote in favour of the division. The BJP has tried doing a tightrope walk on this issue. On the one hand, the party has supported the division of Andhra Pradesh, but has also been careful in not upsetting potential allies such as YSR Congress and Telugu Desam Party. Both are opposed to the division.