Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N. Chandrababu Naidu met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J. P. Nadda in the national capital late on Wednesday night to discuss a tripartite electoral alliance for forthcoming simultaneous elections to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and the Lok Sabha.
Naidu’s Late-Night Meeting with Amit Shah and Nadda for Alliance Discussions
Naidu, who arrived in the national capital in the evening, drove to Amit Shah’s residence for the crucial meeting.
TDP-Jana Sena-BJP Alliance in Focus
The talks are likely to give some clarity over the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance to take on the ruling YSR Congress Party.
The TDP and Jana Sena headed by actor-politician Pawan Kalyan have already announced an electoral alliance.
Jana Sena, a constituent of the BJP-led NDA, has long been trying to rope in the saffron party to join hands with them to defeat the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP.
TDP’s Attempt to Revive Alliance with BJP
Naidu and Pawan Kalyan already had a few rounds of talks for seat-sharing and were reported to have reached a broad consensus. The TDP, which had snapped ties with the BJP in 2018, evinced interest in reviving the alliance after suffering a crushing defeat in the 2019 elections.
BJP’s Reluctance and Pressure Mounting
However, the BJP had been cold to Naidu’s overtures as the YSRCP had maintained friendly ties with the Modi government and extended support to it in the Parliament in passing several key bills. With only a couple of months to go before the elections, the pressure was mounting on the BJP leadership to decide on the alliance.
State BJP’s Preference for TDP-Jana Sena Alliance
Most of the state BJP leaders are in favor of an alliance with the TDP-Jana Sena combine. BJP State President D. Purandeswari, who is the sister-in-law of Naidu, had recently submitted a report to the party’s central leadership on the feedback gathered from members of the party’s state executive on the alliance.
Speculation Surrounding Naidu’s Meeting with Amit Shah and Nadda
Chandrababu Naidu had met Amit Shah and Nadda in June last year. The meeting had triggered speculations of the two parties reviving their alliance as it was Naidu’s first meeting with Amit Shah since 2018 when the TDP pulled out of the NDA.
