'The karyakartas who wanted to contest were disappointed and it took some time to explain to them why we needed an alliance.'
Andhra Pradesh is voting for both the state assembly and the Lok Sabha and hence it is more competitive than the ones who are voting only for the Lok Sabha.
Daggubati Purandeswari, one of N T Rama Rao's 11 children, has been a member of the Congress and is now in the Bharatiya Janata Party.
She has stayed away from Telugu Desam Party, a party her father founded, likely because she disapproved of the manner that her brother-in-law Nara Chandrababu Naidu dethroned NTR and took charge of the TDP in the 1990s.
The TDP is now an ally of the BJP, which Purandeswari heads in Andhra Pradesh.
"The alliance is between two political parties and not between a brother-in-law and his relative," Purandeswari tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar.
You have been in both the Congress and the BJP. What is the difference between the two parties?
You cannot compare two parties. Each party has their own way of operating. Being in the BJP I can tell you that this is a party that gives a lot of respect to its karyakartas who in turn work very hard for the party.
Was it easy to stitch an alliance with the TDP as Chandrababu Naidu is your brother-in-law?
The alliance is between two political parties and not between a brother-in-law and his relative. Both parties have their karyakartas who want to contest in all the seats.
The karyakartas who wanted to contest were disappointed and it took some time to explain to them why we needed an alliance at that time. We convinced them.
The three-party alliance has very good coordination. We have coordinating committees at the state level, district constituency level and assembly level. We work together at all times.
Will Naidu canvass for you?
Yes! He came twice to canvass for me. Pawan Kalyan also came twice.
You are the BJP's state president and you are canvassing for votes for yourself.
Shouldn't you be canvassing across the state for your candidates and your allies' candidates?
I went across the state even before the elections were announced.
You are the iconic NTR's daughter. Do you think people vote for you because of that?
That is a major reason, but people also look at the candidate. How they conduct themselves in public life and what work they have done in the constituencies that they have earlier represented.
You have been an MP before. What you have done in your constituency?
When I was the MP of Bapatla the rice and channa exporters were suffering. I got the ban on exports lifted and the problem was solved.
It was not an individual problem, but a collective problem of the farmers. I like to work for the community.
When I was representing Visakhapatnam the port was being built. The people who had been ousted had not been rehabilitated.
I fought for that and got them all rehabilitated. These are the important ones; there are a lot more issues I have addressed.
You have been a central minister. Do you look at the whole country or do you concentrate your schemes in Andhra?
When I am a Union minister I look at the whole country though there is a tendency to favour one's own state.
When I was an MP I concentrated on my constituency.
Have you ever got angry in Parliament?
I am not a person who gets angry easily. Only once when I was a first time parliamentarian I was angry because I did not get a chance to speak about agriculture.
Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi was the minister then. Since I was a first time MP he did not think I could speak properly on the subject and this greatly upset me as he brushed me aside.
I got into an argument with him that day, but usually I don't get angry.
Mr Modi came to canvass for you, do you enjoy a personal equation with him? Can you call him when you wish to talk?
I know him personally as I am a state president of the BJP.
He is the prime minister of the country. You cannot simply call him because you have his number.
Are you always available to your voters? Do they all have your mobile number? Do you answer all calls?
There are 16 lakh (1.6 million) voters in my constituency. It is not possible to give all of them my mobile number or answer all their calls. There is a mechanism to meet me, my doors are always open.
You can reach my people who in turn will inform me and I will solve their problem.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
