Naidu veers towards saffron party
hyderabad — Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu, who played a key role in both the United Front and NDA governments, has dropped enough hints about his possible return to the NDA as an ally of BJP.
Addressing a brain-storming session of his party leaders at the TDP headquarters here, the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister made laudatory references to BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and quoted the recent opinion surveys in the media suggesting a steady erosion of Congress’ support base across the country and the rise of BJP under Modi’s charismatic leadership.
Soon after losing power in the 2004 elections, the TDP ended its seven year-long alliance with the BJP. However, the changed political dynamics in the state, in the wake of the Unite Progressive Alliance’s decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and emergence of Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy as a formidable political force, appear to have prompted Naidu to look up to the saffron party to improve his party’s prospects in the coming elections.
“According to the recent opinion surveys, it is clear that the wind is blowing in favour of Modi, particularly in the North. Moreover, the efforts to forge a third front are yielding no results,” Naidu remarked. The ruling Congress and YSR Congress (YSRC) headed by Jagan, are the main political rivals of TDP while BJP is a marginal player in the state.
Political observers say that Naidu is keen on “piggy-backing” on BJP in the next elections in view of the growing popularity of Modi. “If we revive electoral tie-up with the BJP, it will be a win-win situation for both the parties,” said senior TDP leader from Telangana E. Dayakar Rao. Moreover, the proposal for working together has
It is clear that the wind is blowing in favour of Modi, particularly in the North Chandrababu Naidu
come from Modi himself. While addressing a rally in Hyderabad in September, the Gujarat chief minister had appealed to the TDP to join the efforts to rid the country of Congress rule.
Modi and Naidu had shared the stage at a function organised by the Citizens for Accountable Governance in Delhi last month, signalling a possible re-alignment of political forces. His TDP was a crucial outside supporter of the NDA during 1998-2004.
For Naidu, who was AP’s chief minister between 1995 and 2004, the political pendulum appears to be swinging from Left to the Right. In the 2009 polls, his party had an alliance with the Left parties — CPI and CPM — but it is now gravitating towards the saffron party.
The statehood movement in Telangana region, which accounts for 119 seats in the 294-member AP Assembly, and the growing impact of Jagan’s popularity, are the two major factors that have pushed the TDP into a corner.
Unlike in the past when Congress and TDP were locked in straight contests, the emergence of new sub-regional and regional players and fierce identity politics taking deep roots have complicated matters further. Having ruled the state for 16 years, the regional party has now been reduced to a marginal player.
There is a growing pressure from the cadre, particularly in the Telangana region, to return to the NDA fold. However, there is also a sense of irony to it. The TDP was among the first alliance partners of NDA to demand dismissal of Modi as Gujarat chief minister after the 2002 anti-Muslim riots. After walking out of NDA, it had dubbed BJP as a communal party. Since then, the TDP has been attempting an image make-over by abandoning its pro-reforms baggage, embracing populism with gusto and aligning with the left parties to earn a pro-poor tag.