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Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi
Telugu Desam Party chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu has obtained Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's approval for taking the National Democratic Alliance presidential candidate A P J Abdul Kalam to Andhra Pradesh to buttress his party's Muslim votebank, a top TDP source told rediff.com on Saturday.
"Our party chief has obtained Vajpayee's approval for taking Kalam to Hyderabad to prove to Muslims in our state that the TDP has had a large hand in his presidential candidature," a leading TDP Lok Sabha Member of Parliament said.
"The other NDA leaders, including Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee have supported Naidu's proposal," the TDP leader contended.
"The date of Kalam's visit to Hyderabad has not yet been worked out but it could be within days," he said.
According to the TDP MP, the party leadership is of the view that Kalam's proposed visit would convince the minority community in the state that the party's secular credentials remain intact.
He said Prime Minister Vajpayee 'willingly' gave his approval to Naidu's proposal.
"The Congress is our chief (political) foe in our state and the BJP hopes that a TDP-BJP electoral tie-up during the assembly polls will get both parties good returns," he said.
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