The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday passed a resolution adopting the Rayalaseema Declaration that seeks setting up of a High Court and second capital in the region. The move is being seen as the latest in the widening rift between the BJP and it ally Telugu Desam Party.

At a convention in Kurnool, BJP leaders from Rayalaseema including state general secretary S Suresh Reddy and national executive committee member Shanta Reddy asked the state government to immediately declare Rayalaseema the state’s second capital. “The state High Court should have its permanent building not in Amaravati but in Rayalaseema,” said Reddy.

This comes as the Andhra Pradesh government has already decided on Amaravati as the location and a team of judges from the Hyderabad High Court also approved the proposed location on Thursday, reported the Hindustan Times. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has said the Rayalaseema region could only get a bench of the High Court.

Naidu’s TDP, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s only ally in the south, has been at odds with the Centre since February 1, alleging that the Union Budget did not allocate enough funds to Andhra Pradesh. “Perhaps this is a precursor for snapping ties with the TDP,” a senior BJP leader told Deccan Chronicle.

Other demands

The declaration includes 16 demands for the backward region in Andhra Pradesh. The BJP’s state unit wants the state government to fulfil these 16 demands before its term ends. These demands include: