Guests at Jagan Mohan Reddy’s oath hint at an opposition tie-up

Vijayawada: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and DMK chief M.K. Stalin attending YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s swearing-in as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh is being interpreted as a move towards a political realignment in south India.

Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRC with 22 seats will be the third largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha along with the Trinamul Congress, behind the DMK which has 23 MPs. The DMK, YSRC and the TRS, with nine seats, put together comprise a bloc of 54 MPs.

Indeed, together with its Tamil Nadu allies, the DMK comes with 37 Lok Sabha seats which till take the strength of the emerging bloc to 68.
It is learnt that the three leaders have decided to continue their unity in Parliament to put pressure on the Centre to deliver benefits to Andhra Pradesh, Telangana state and Tamil Nadu.

This comes especially against the backdrop of the BJP trying to gain entry into the south. The BJP has secured four seats in Telangana state, established an alliance with AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, and is conspicuously planning to take over the role of the Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh. While it is trying to make a headway in Kerala, it is a dominant player in Karnataka.

Interestingly, the DMK was seen as a trusted friend of the TD until the results were declared.

Their friendship was so deep that Mr Stalin had sent his emissary, DMK treasurer Durai Murugan, to tell TD supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu what had transpired between him and Mr Chandrasekhar Rao when the latter met him in Chennai as part of his efforts to stitch a non-BJP, non-Congress Federal Front prior to the announcement of election results.

Since both the Federal Front and the anti-BJP front didn’t take off with overwhelming numbers as the NDA did, Mr Stalin, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy, and Mr Chandrasekhar Rao want to join hands now to protect the common interests of their respective states. This new alignment will be apparent whenever any of the three states wants to achieve something from the Centre.

“Since the NDA has secured the requisite numbers, it doesn't need new friends. But we need to fight for our rights, and the new alignment will definitely help the three states,” opined a YSRC leader.