By Surya Kumar
Vijayawada: For 73-year old N. Chandrababu Naidu, changing alliances is not new. He joined the saffron brigade recently to fight elections jointly with the BJP and Tollywood star Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP) against the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in the upcoming simultaneous elections to the Assembly and the Lok Sabha in Andhra Pradesh.
Considered as a master strategist by his die-hard supporters, Naidu fondly called CBN, served as Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh for nine years after usurping power from his father-in-law legendary and actor late N T Rama Rao (NTR) in 1995. He was elected to become first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh post-bifurcation in 2014 and completed his five-year term. His tenure was marked by hype over building a futuristic capital at Amaravati and hurriedly shifting joint capital from Hyderabad after his alleged involvement in the ‘vote for note’ scandal unearthed during the KCR’s regime.
Naidu after supporting Atal Bihari Vajpayee from outside in 1998, who headed the BJP-led NDA, took the decision to join the coalition in 1999 apparently to take advantage of goodwill generated for BJP after the Kargil War. The alliance continued till 2004 when BJP and TDP bitten the dust at the husting in Andhra Pradesh paving the way for formation of UPA Government led by Manmohan Singh at the Centre and installation of Congress Government in the State under the leadership of late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, father of Andhra Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Again when Narendra Modi was projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate and having been compelled to sit in Opposition for 10 years in a row, Naidu decided to align with the BJP by becoming part of the NDA coalition in 2014. When Modi formed the government, Naidu preferred to share power at the Centre. However, four years later, he walked out of NDA protesting against denial of Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh, a promise made by the BJP and Modi at Tirupati rally in the run up to the general elections. On being told that the State is getting better support than SCS in the form of a special package, Naidu said goodbye to NDA. This subsequently led to declaration by then BJP national president Amit Shah that their doors for TDP were closed permanently.
The arrest of Naidu in the skill development corporation fund embezzlement scam by the YSRCP Government last year led to Pawan Kalyan calling on him in Central Prison, Rajahmundry and springing a surprise by announcing that he has decided to align with TDP to ensure “YSRCP-Vimukt Andhra Pradesh.” He made the declaration while continuing as a member of the NDA coalition, which had raised many an eyebrow.
Subsequently, after stitching up an alliance with the NDA during his Delhi visit and series of confabulations with Amit Shah and BJP national president J.P. Nadda, said on X the tripartite alliance isn’t just an alliance but rather a partnership between three stakeholders committed to serving Andhra Pradesh and the country. “I’m confident that the people of AP will bless this alliance with a historic mandate to serve us. Together, we shall herald a golden era of growth and prosperity for our State.” He hastened to add, “I’m pleased to rejoin NDA today. Together with @PawanKalyna garu, I look forward to working with Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji, hon’ble HM @Amit Shah ji and BJP president @JP Naddaji to form a people’s government in Andhra Pradesh and ushering in a new era of development.”
Though the alliance talk was doing rounds for a long time, Naidu and Pawan Kalyan had to wait for three days in Delhi to strike the deal with the Shah-Nadda duo. BJP State president and a Minister in UPA-I coalition at the Centre, Daggubati Purandeswari, daughter of NTR, is speculated to contest from Rajahmundry Lok Sabha seat. Former TDP Rajya Sabha members Sujana Chaudhary and C M Ramesh, who later defected to the BJP, also played a key role in finalising the tripartite alliance.
The alliance drew bouquets and brickbats on expected lines. Prof. K Nageshwar, a political analyst, said Naidu owed an explanation to the people on why he quit NDA in 2018 and decided to make a reentry. He wanted to know if the BJP leadership promised him special status to Andhra Pradesh.
APCC President Y.S. Sharmila Reddy, sister of Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has turned a bitter critic of YSRCP after disbanding her YSR Telangana Party and joining the Congress, said both Naidu and her brother were dancing to the tune of the BJP bosses. She said the saffron brigade has a tacit understanding with YSRCP as Jagan has been extending unconditional support to the Modi Government to ensure passage of all legislations in both the Houses of Parliament.
Jagan Mohan Reddy’s detractors say that he has been maintaining friendly relations with the NDA Government due to the alleged ‘quid pro quo’ case being under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, at the Siddham rally held with fanfare at Medarametla in Bapatla district , Jagan first time described the TDP-Jana Sena Party alliance with the BJP as opportunistic and declared that his alliance is with the people and he is certain to be elected to continue, what he termed “revolutionary welfare agenda.”
Considered as one of the strong architects of the new alliance, Pawan Kalyan tweeted on X “The fundamental purpose of this historic alliance of BJP-TDP-JSP is to give hope, stability and prosperity to people of AP. Under dynamic, daring, & visionary leadership of Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi ji , We all will be working as responsible stakeholders who will put our best efforts to make AP into a vibrant and robust State in every possible way. And my best wishes to NDA’s natural partner Sri Nara Chandrababu Naidu garu @ncbn and looking forward to stabilising our NDA alliance further for the well being of AP and Bharath.”
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