Hyderabad: BJP national president Amit Shah skipping a meeting with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday in Hyderabad has raised many eyebrows.

Mr Shah was in the city from Wednesday evening to Thursday evening and participated in a series of programmes but meeting the top leaders of the NDA allies failed to come about. The BJP is an ally of the Telugu Desam both parties share power at the national and state level.

Mr Naidu was in the city and attempts were made by his camp to meet Mr Shah, but they did not bear fruit owing to the “busy schedule” of the BJP leader. Mr Shah left for Vijayawada by flight from Shamshabad airport on Thursday evening.

However, political observers say that this is a clear indication that the BJP is weaning away support to its ally as part of the strategy to strengthen itself by 2019. The BJP leaders too echoed similar views.

A top Telangana BJP leader said, “Mr Naidu’s camp made attempts to meet with our national president. We are now strengthening our party in both the states. So this meeting was neither a priority nor on the itinerary of our party leader.”

“This visit was specifically for party activities, increasing membership and is aimed at helping the party come to power on its own in 2019 elections in both AP and Telangana. In Vijayawada, too, the meetings of Mr Shah will be similar to that in Telangana and there is no coordination meeting with the Telugu Desam,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s office claimed that Mr Naidu spoke to Mr Shah over telephone.