Vijayawada: Opposition leader and Telugu Desam party supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu put his desperation to appease Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP for an opening to re-enter the NDA again, when on Tuesday he praised to the sky "PM Modi’s vision and leadership to make the world recognise India’s strength" at a television news channel's event in the national capital.
Political observers could clearly make out his effort to openly lobby with the top BJP leadership to extend his support to the BJP led NDA government and seek to forge an alliance with it in the run up to the Andhra Pradesh elections in 2024, which coincide with the Lok Sabha polls.
Taking part in the programme, Naidu endorsed the vision of PM Modi for India, saying he agrees with Modi's vision and expressed his intent to associate with Andhra Pradesh and its people to achieve that vision.
Naidu said, “Wealth creation is important and at the same time, we have to eradicate poverty. Prime Minister Modi promoted India and the world has recognised its strength. All thanks to PM Modi.”
On the other hand, the BJP state leadership has been maintaining steadfastly that it was not going to forge any alliance with any family-ruled parties like the ruling YSR Congress or the opposition Telugu Desam in the next elections. The State BJP says it would contest the polls in alliance with their ally, Tollywood star Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena party.
However, the BJP’s national leadership is silent on whether their party would forge an alliance with TD in AP in the next polls. BJP national secretary and AP affairs co-incharge Sunil Deodhar said, “Our top leadership will decide whether our party will go with an alliance with Telugu Desam in AP in the next elections or not and we will go by their decision.”
BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao said, “We want to develop our party as a strong political alternative in AP and the issue of our party forging alliance with other political parties will be decided by the BJP national leadership at an appropriate time.”
But several senior BJP leaders have in the past reiterated that the doors for a potential return to NDA by the TDP led by Naidu were closed forever.
A senior leader told Deccan Chronicle that they treated Naidu as a political opportunist who has twice quit the NDA of his own. The BJP also has not forgotten how Mr Naidu quit the NDA before the elections in 2019 and allied with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, and was extremely critical of the Narendra Modi-led government.
The leader further said that the top BJP leadership was peeved with Chandrababu Naidu, and no matter what he said, there was no way the BJP would ever consider partnering with him again.
Reacting on present day politics, freebies and distribution of money, Naidu urged the Centre to abolish currency with denomination of Rs 500 and above as it will help to curb illegal use of money before the elections.
