Hyderabad: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Telangana is all set to contest the upcoming November 30 elections with the Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP). While discussions over-seat sharing and other details are still going on, the BJP-JSP pre-poll pact has thrown up an interesting situation, as the the N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) does not fit into the equation. This, in spite of Kalyan formally joining hands with the TDP in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh (AP).
The JSP’s support for the BJP is not unexpected, given that Kalyan is still part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre. But his alliance with the TDP has put Naidu, who has been reportedly reaching out to the BJP’s central leadership over recent months, in a tight spot. While the BJP clearly wants Kalyan’s support for the upcoming polls, it seems to be punishing the TDP over Naidu’s acrimonious exit from the NDA and eventual fallout with the BJP in 2018.
Though Telangana TDP chief Kasani Gnaneswar had earlier announced that the party will contest polls, the final decision will be taken by Naidu, who is currently in the Rajahmundry jail due to his arrest in the ‘Skill Development’ Scam in AP. TDP leaders, who did not want to be quoted, said that their party will eventually go back to the NDA, but that it will happen closer to the 2024 AP Assembly and the Lok Sabha elections.
Background – 2014 and 2018 polls
In 2014, just a few months before the state’s formation, the TDP and BJP contested the Telangana and AP elections together with support from Kalyan, who is important due to him being from the Kapu community. Kapus in AP are believed to occupy about 20% of the state’s population. The TDP had come to power in AP, while it managed to win 15 out of 119 seats in Telangana. Naidu was a man with stakes in both states.
However, he broke-off ties with the NDA after the Centre refused to give AP the ‘Special Category’ status in 2018. It was followed by Pawan Kalyan also openly denouncing Naidu, and taking back support. In the ensuring 2019 state and general elections, the TDP managed to win just 23 out of 175 seats in AP, as the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) stormed to power.
In Telangana, Naidu had joined hands with the Congress for the 2018 state polls, which proved to be a fatal mistake. Not only did it fail, the Congress and TDP together won just 19 and two seats each, while the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) secured 88 out of 119 seats. The BJP, which in 2014 won five Assembly seats, managed to retain only one – Goshamahal.
In the current scenario, the TDP seems to be getting the short end of the stick due to Naidu’s decision to quit the NDA in 2018. “Honestly there is not much for us in Telangana, but there are still pockets of AP settlers in seats like Kukatpally and Malkajgiri within Hyderabad. We had been asked to stop attacking the BJP a while back by Naidu, but our formal entry into the NDA may take time,” said a TDP leader who did not want to be quoted.
So far, the BJP in Telangana has announced 52 candidates in its first list, while the JSP has only stated it will contest 32 seats but not released any details. Further discussions on this are on, said leaders from both side. “There is absolutely no proposal to contest elections with the BJP for us in Telangana,” said a JSP leader from AP. The JSP, which contested in AP for the first time in the 2019 state elections, will be doing so in Telangana for the first time this November.
A political observer, who also did not want to be identified, said that the peculiar situation – the JSP joining hands with the TDP in AP, but going with the BJP sans TDP – is a result of whatever is happening in AP. “After he broke away from the NDA, Naidu and other TDP Andhra leaders blamed the Centre for denying their state special category, among other things. BJP also did not forget, and we have to see what happens,” he added
| 
