Deputy PM L.K. Advani today renewed his request to Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu to join the NDA government after the elections. Wednesday also saw the TDP allotting nine Lok Sabha and 27 Assembly seats to the BJP. At a news conference here, Advani said that he requested Naidu to join the NDA over breakfast. ‘‘It is for him (Naidu) to decide,’’ he said.The senior BJP leader said that they would be happy if the TDP decided to be part of the government. ‘‘The alliance between the BJP and TDP is based on mutual admiration and common concern for good governance,’’ he said.On statehood for Telangana, Advani cleared the air with an emphatic ‘‘no’’. ‘‘Telangana and Vidarbha were never on our agenda though the BJP state units of both AP and Maharashtra adopted resolution in favour of their formation,’’ he clarified before setting out on the eighth day of his Bharat Uday Yatra. In both instances, there was no consensus among the major political parties in the two states, he said.Meanwhile, the seat-sharing agreement was reached between BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan and Naidu in a three-hour meeting. The number of seats allotted is far less than the state BJP’s demand for 12 LS and 42 Assembly seats. Speaking to reporters, the two leaders said that numbers were immaterial as ‘‘they have a common goal — defeating Congress’’.As his rath went through Telangana, Advani claimed that the demand for a separate state would diminish gradually as the NDA would accord priority to utilisation of Godavari waters for ensuring prosperity to the region’s backward districts.
