Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu’s decision to pull out two ministers from the BJP-led NDA government has shown the first cracks in the coalition.

“I tried reaching out to the Prime Minister to inform him about our decision. But sadly, he was unavailable,” tweeted Naidu.

“I am not angry with anyone. This decision has been taken only to benefit the people of Andhra Pradesh. The Centre has been taking one sided decisions and our patience has run out now. When the purpose of joining the union cabinet hasn’t been fulfilled, it’s best to resign now,” he said in another tweet.

Civil aviation minister P Ashok Gajapati Raju and union minister of science and technology Sujana Chowdary will put in their papers after TDP’s demand for special category status to Andhra Pradesh was not met.

The BJP-led coalition had come to power after getting a massive mandate in the 2014 general elections.

Just a year ahead of the 2019 election, TDP’s move indicates that all is not well among the coalition partners.

TDP is not the only ally which is unhappy. For the past three years, the Shiv Sena has expressed its displeasure with the BJP. The Shiv Sena has 18 MPs while the TDP has 16 MPs.

The Shiv Sena has repeatedly targeted the union government over price rise and hike in petrol rates.

There is an uneasy alliance between the Shiv Sena and the BJP in Maharashtra. The BJP has 122 seats in the 288-seat state assembly.