TDP senses defeat in 2019, Andhra Pradesh will be next Tripura for us: BJP

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffered a huge setback as TDP broke ties with the party and exited from the NDA alliance on Friday over the demand for special status for Andhra Pradesh. Reacting to the development, Union Minister MA Naqvi said it was not right to comment on the decision of a state with elections around the corner.

He added that every state has demands and issues and that it is a custom to have a rehearsal in the Parliament before the actual elections. BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao sought to downplay TDP's move stating that the party is finding the going tough in Andhra Pradesh as they are seeing a defeat for themselves in the 2019 elections. "They want to use this as an alibi to really retrieve lost political ground," he said. Rao said the state govt and the TDP are feeling the pinch of public opinion going against them, adding that the BJP will use this as an opportunity to grow as a political party and emerge as a dominant political force in Andhra Pradesh. "For us it will prove to be the next Tripura," he added.