It may be too early to predict if Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest will help it turn the tide in Andhra Pradesh politics. But it appears to have changed many a thing for the Opposition party that had failed to launch a massive offensive against the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government till now. Finding Naidu in Rajahmundry Central Prison has not only spurred his son Nara Lokesh into action, but it has also raised the level of optimism among the cadre and given the party fresh hope in its efforts to stitch together a formidable coalition that can take on Jagan’s Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP). BJP and TDP insiders said actor-politician Pawan Kalyan’s announcement on Thursday that his Jana Sena Party (JSP) would fight the elections next year in alliance with the TDP indicates that the window remains open for the BJP to join the Opposition alliance in the state. Sources said talks between the JSP, which had attended the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting in New Delhi in July, and the BJP were moving in a “positive direction” as the regional party was amenable to giving the latter more seats. “This has given fresh hopes for a possible alliance on both sides. But they are still in the discussion stage, no final decision has been taken,” said a source in the BJP. Immediately after Pawan Kalyan’s public declaration of the tie-up, Lokesh landed in the national capital. In his words, the TDP leader was in Delhi “to explain the injustice that has happened to Naidu”. The former CM has been arrested in the multi-crore AP Skill Development Corporation scam. “My purpose of coming to Delhi is to explain to people the injustice that has happened to Chandrababu Naidu. He worked with Siemens on this project, a project to train the youth of Andhra Pradesh to give them jobs. Does that man deserve to be sent to judicial remand?” he asked during a conversation with The Indian Express. He said the project that started in 2015 continued to operate during the tenure of the Jagan government, which came to power in 2019. With a section of BJP leaders apprehensive that an alliance with the TDP will not prove to be advantageous for the party — the BJP is keen on mustering the support of multiple parties ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and believes that the YSCP is much stronger than the Opposition in Andhra — Lokesh said his father was arrested because the TDP had been going from strength to strength. TDP leaders admitted that the party was lagging in the poll surveys before the arrest but had gained momentum since Naidu’s arrest. Lokesh linked the arrest to his statewide “Yuva Galam (Voice of the Youth)” padayatra, which covered 86 of the 175 Assembly constituencies. “Otherwise why would the former CM be arrested? We were in the field to take our manifesto to the people. There was a huge momentum that was built at my padayatra … Jagan wanted to stop that momentum.” He also countered the argument that the TDP had failed to make a deep impact as the primary Opposition party to the YSRCP, which seemingly continues to enjoy popular support for its welfare schemes. The TDP scion pointed out that the party recently won all the Graduate MLC constituencies in the legislative council elections earlier this year. “If the TDP has no impact, why has Naidu been arrested now? Why does Lokesh have multiple cases, including a murder case against him? Close to 1,000 leaders of ours are in jail. Of course, there is resentment among people, there is fear among people. There is strong anti-incumbency.” Lokesh also said, “Talking about welfare schemes, the TDP did no less. It is part of the society in Andhra. But you have to give jobs, power, and water, and the economy has to be strong. There is an economic distress in the state. The state is third in number of farmers suicide. No company comes to Andhra Pradesh while many are leaving the state.” Which way will the BJP sway? With optimism about an alliance with the BJP prevailing, Lokesh calibrated his criticism of the misuse of police and regulatory bodies to stifle the Opposition, an allegation that the INDIA alliance has levelled against the BJP several times. “The agencies are being misused. That is quite evident from Naidu's arrest. It is a classic case of political vendetta and harassment. The state regulatory agencies have been misused. So far, national agencies have not been involved in Andhra Pradesh, so I cannot make any comment.” TDP leaders said Jagan’s move had surprised even the BJP leadership. “We have been told that they had no clue about the arrest. Although there were talks about an arrest, no one expected this to take place,” said a TDP functionary. Sources in the BJP also agreed that Naidu’s arrest had given “fresh energy” to the TDP rank and file. According to the party, Jana Sena's public announcement will consolidate votes for TDP. “At least a portion of neutral votes have already shifted to them as people do not approve of vendetta politics especially when you (Jagan Mohan ) do not have a clean image. If he (the CM) had the image of a clean and honest politician, the impact would have been different,” said a BJP leader from the region. BJP insiders admitted that the party, which showed keenness in forging an understanding with the TDP, later developed a cold feet as a section of its leaders advised against antagonising YSRCP that has better prospects of winning the most parliamentary seats in the state. However, the TDP president’s arrest and the following developments could make the leaders review their stand, they added. While state BJP president D Purandareswari has condemned the arrest, parties such as the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Janata Dal (Secular), which are in discussions with the BJP for an electoral understanding for the Lok Sabha polls, have declared their support for Naidu. In the end, for the BJP it all boils down to winning as many parliamentary seats as possible from the southern states. “We want more candidates to contest and win with ‘kamal ka nishan (lotus symbol)’ and the party will be open to alliances and understanding to get the maximum seats in the states where it does not have dominance,” said a leader.
