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Journalism of Courage
After an initial forward movement, the possibility of a BJP-Telugu Desam Party (TDP) alliance in Andhra Pradesh appears to be dissipating as the BJP is keen on backing the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). The final call on a possible alliance or any electoral understanding with the TDP would be taken only after a more thorough assessment of the political situation, said sources in the BJP.
Naidu, who is in Delhi at present, is not likely to meet any BJP leaders unlike in June when he had a late evening meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda. Those meetings set off a buzz about the possible alliance between the former allies ahead of the coming elections — both the Lok Sabha and the Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. On Monday, Naidu along with his party leaders met Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar to complain about the alleged inclusion of a massive number of bogus voters in the electoral rolls of Andhra Pradesh.
While Naidu has been awaiting a positive response from the BJP leadership, the party seems to have taken stock of the current political scenario in the state. Sources said the BJP leadership made an initial assessment of the political situation in Andhra Pradesh and is keen on continuing its warm ties with the YSRCP as it is likely to be the stronger electoral force in a state with 25 Lok Sabha seats. The YSRCP won 22 of the constituencies in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
BJP leaders said YSRCP seems to be electorally in a comfortable position, with the welfare schemes of its government proving to be popular while the TDP has failed to consolidate the anti-government votes on the ground in the last four-and-a-half years. Reddy recently announced that his government had disbursed Rs 216.34 crore to 2,62,169 beneficiaries left out of various welfare programmes between December 2022 and July 2023. The Andhra Pradesh chief minister has said his government will ensure no eligible person is deprived of the welfare benefits for any reason. “With this new scheme that he named after himself — Jagananna Suraksha Programme — he has scrapped his father’s initials YSR, which have been used extensively to brand the schemes. This scheme is meant to cover the entire population of the poor in the state and it is likely to give him a lot of advantage in the electoral scene,” said a BJP leader.
The YSRCP’s comfortable electoral position is apparently making the BJP rethink its overtures to the TDP, which has been desperate to return to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), sources in the BJP said. Reddy has so far resisted pressure from the BJP to formally join the NDA but has been supporting the Narendra Modi-led government in every crucial moment. The YSRCP opposed the no-confidence motion that the Congress moved during the Monsoon Session and also voted in favour of the government on the National Capital Territory (NCT) Amendment Bill. The Bill has subsequently become law and has been described by the Opposition as a violation of the principle of federalism for sidelining an elected government and handing over control of civil servants to the Lieutenant Governor.
“The BJP’s priority in the south (where its electoral presence is limited) will be to check the Congress. The party has to ensure that the Congress’s gains in Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh are limited. The YSRCP has more potential for that,” said a BJP leader.
The BJP has never won a single seat in Andhra Pradesh nor has it raised its vote share significantly in the state. Despite the state unit’s outreach initiatives and a series of agitation programmes against the Reddy government, the party has not been able to leave a significant imprint due to the friendly ties with Jagan on the national political stage, said party sources.
Even the recent appointment of D Purandeswari as the state BJP president is, according to party sources, just a bid to expand its core support base in the state. Purandeswari, a former Union Minister and Naidu’s sister-in-law, is considered to be the one who carries the legacy of her father N T Rama Rao, one of the most popular leaders in the south. She is articulate and can carry the message of the welfare measures of the Modi government, according to a senior BJP leader. “She could get the party more votes to build a significant base in the state from where we can build it further,” said a BJP leader from Andhra Pradesh.
