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The BJP was one of the first parties to react to the arrest of TDP leader and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, with its state chief Daggubati Purandeswari condemning the police action, saying it was taken “without giving a proper notice, without naming him in the FIR, without taking a proper explanation, and without following the proper procedure”.
The Jana Sena Party (JSP) also condemned the arrest, with party chief and actor-turned-politician K Pawan Kalyan, calling the actions of the police a reflection of “the undemocratic regime of the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP)”.
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) working president S Mastan said they were looking at the developments, and would issue a statement later.
In his statement, Kalyan said: “In the state of Andhra Pradesh, the system of late night arrests is being adopted without even showing basic evidence. Everyone saw how the police treated our party in Visakhapatnam in October last year. Our Jana Sena leaders were put in jail after being charged with attempted murder. Today’s behaviour towards Chandrababu Naidu is similar. We totally condemn his arrest.”
Criticising the YSRCP’s policy to “suppress the Opposition”, he said its actions were “disturbing the law and order”. “YSRCP leaders are issuing statements that said their party, police and government are ready if there is any disturbance to peace and order. What we don’t understand is that the police system is supposed to control law and order. What does the YSRCP have to do with that? If a party leader is arrested, their leaders and followers will come out. They come out of their homes and protest. That is part of democracy,” Kalyan said.
The JSP is keen on an alliance that includes the TDP and BJP ahead of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls scheduled for next year, in order to defeat the YSRCP. Kalyan has said a BJP-JSP-TDP alliance would prevent a split in the anti-incumbency vote and hence dislodge the YSRCP, which remains very strong in the state.
In the current 175-member Assembly, the YSRCP has 151 MLAs, with the second-largest TDP way behind at 23 seats. The JSP has one MLA while the BJP has none.
But while the JSP has an alliance with the BJP in Andhra, and Kalyan shares a cordial relationship with senior BJP leaders like Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP is not too keen on tying up with the TDP. On July 18, Kalyan had attended an NDA meeting in New Delhi and spoken to senior BJP leaders about re-admitting the TDP into the NDA. The TDP was not invited for the meeting.
The BJP’s opposition to the TDP continues despite a meeting Naidu had with Shah in New Delhi on June 4 for a possible tie-up. The TDP is banking on Kalyan’s persuasive powers to return to the NDA fold.
However, the BJP central leadership did suggest that a tripartite alliance could be possible when it appointed Daggubati Purandeswari, the daughter of former CM and TDP founder N T Rama Rao, as the Andhra Pradesh BJP chief earlier this year.
Sources in the BJP said that the party wants to maintain distance from both the TDP and YSRCP for now, and any decision on a BJP-JSP-TDP tie-up would be taken only after several rounds of intensive talks.
The TDP used to be an ally of the BJP, but pulled out of the alliance in 2018, citing not fulfilment of the demand for special status for Andhra. But the move had not earned it any electoral dividends in the 2019 elections.
