From ‘waiting for call’ to taking centre stage: Naidu turns the tables

But on June 4, the tables turned and Naidu’s significance in the NDA soared as the majority mark eluded the BJP. On Wednesday, when he reached Delhi, the BJP top brass was more than willing to meet him.

The former CM, who was jailed in the alleged Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation scam and apparently written off from state politics, became an imperative part of the combine formula for NDA’s third term after winning 16 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

“You all need the (political) spice,” Naidu responded to a barrage of questions from media persons as party workers and his admirers gathered to greet him at the Delhi residence of former TDP MP Galla Jayadev.

But there was silence on one question: What does he want from the BJP in exchange for his support to the NDA?

Naidu was an NDA ally from 1999 onwards but he drifted away from the coalition. Before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, his party stitched an alliance with the Congress, and Naidu was handed a drubbing in his home state.

He joined hands with the NDA only after Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan managed to bring the BJP and TDP together following Naidu’s release from jail on bail.

In Delhi on Wednesday, Naidu was surrounded by his former advisors, some of his MLAs and at least an MP. “It’s a rather busy day for us. Everything is finally falling in place,” said K Rammohan Rao, a former special advisor to the TDP chief.

Earlier, Pattabhiram Kommareddy, TDP national spokesperson said Naidu’s focus will be on Andhra Pradesh and not Centre. “We don’t want anything from the BJP except for support for development of the state,” he said.

Naidu held a thin file as he headed for the NDA meeting. “I will speak after the meeting,” he said. In the meeting, Naidu was seated next to PM Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin met Naidu at the Delhi airport and exchanged pleasantries. In a post on X, Stalin said: “…I conveyed my best wishes to him and expressed hope that we will collaborate to strengthen the ties between the brotherly states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. I am confident that he will play a crucial role in the Union Government, advocating for the southern states and protecting our rights.”