Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s meeting with home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda last week has once again set off strong speculation of Naidu going back into the NDA’s fold ahead of the three crucial elections — 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Andhra Pradesh assembly elections and Telangana elections slated later this year.
While the TDP is the principal opposition party in Andhra Pradesh, it is eyeing a comeback in Telangana after being completely wiped out from the state by the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, formerly Telangana Rashtra Samithi headed by K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR).
After parting ways with the NDA in 2018 over the delay in granting special category status for Andhra Pradesh, Naidu tied up with the Congress for the 2018 Telangana state assembly elections where they managed to win just two and 19 seats respectively. The only two MLAs that it won also defected to the BRS, leaving Naidu with zero political representation in the state.
However, at its recently held conclave, the TDP announced that it would also switch its focus on Telangana. This development comes in the backdrop of Naidu holding a mega public meeting in Khammam in December last year, where he promptly called on his cadres to work hard to restore its past glory in the state.
While Naidu has been extending an olive branch to the BJP by backing them on several issues, the top leadership of the BJP has always consciously stayed away from such overtures owing to their bitter past with Naidu, such as calling Prime Minister Modi a “terrorist” in 2019. Amit Shah had back then said BJP’s doors had permanently shut for Naidu.
However, there has been a visible shift in BJP’s strategy as it looks to gather alliance partners in the South following its electoral loss in Karnataka. The party is pulling out all stops to make strong inroads in Telangana and tying up with Naidu is one of the many possibilities that the party is exploring, as Naidu’s TDP still continues to have cadres in the state which the BJP hopes to capitalise on.
A senior TDP leader, who wishes to remain anonymous, believes BJP will stand at an advantage if it chooses to tie up with them as many settler votes could swing in their favour. The term ‘settler’ refers to people from coastal Andhra who have settled in Hyderabad mainly for job and educational opportunities.
“Even today, areas like Khammam, Rangareddy, Warangal districts, which are largely occupied by people from Andhra Pradesh, continue to be influenced by our party president N Chandrababu Naidu. They are core TDP supporters; nearly 5-6 constituencies can be influenced.’’
Several BJP leaders within the local leadership, however, remain apprehensive as aligning with Naidu will be akin to giving ammunition to KCR to once again rake up regional sentiments.
“It will be similar to the political suicide that Congress made in 2018 by joining hands with Naidu. KCR based his entire campaign on how Congress was deceiving the people of Telangana by joining hands with a party which opposed the statehood. BJP doesn’t want to take that risk. Central leadership is aware of everything,” a senior BJP leader told News18.
The senior BJP leader quoted above also tells News18 that the settler votes may no longer be a factor, as voting pattern has shifted over 10 years, since Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
At the height of the statehood movement, there was palpable fear among those who had settled from Andhra that they would be deprived of equal opportunities and face oppression but KCR allayed those fears promising inclusive development for all. Subsequently, when Telangana was formed, contrary to fears, Andhra settlers continued to live their lives normally, with KCR also announcing a slew of welfare schemes targeting various sections of the population. In the 2018 assembly elections, KCR won 88 constituencies, improving his 2014 tally by 25 seats, which also included assembly segments occupied by settler votes.
“Regional sentiment will no longer impact elections, it’s all about governance and KCR government has performed in all sectors. The term settler votes no longer exists. Naidu is acting out of frustration, after being wiped out in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. He is desperately trying to stay politically relevant at the national level. Anyone is welcome to contest election in Telangana. It’s going to make no difference to us,” a senior BRS told News18.
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