HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam supremo and Chief Minister-in-waiting for Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu is back to what he is best at — playing a decisive role in formation of the national government.
While the preliminary reaction of the party top leadership clearly indicated that TD would stay with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), it is not clear as of now whether Naidu would make any moves that may upset Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to take oath a third time. Unconfirmed reports stated that senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal made attempts to reach out to Naidu. The Congress which promised Special Category Status at the time of bifurcation itself may offer the same to win over Naidu.
Sources said the TD chief would go to the national capital on Wednesday evening along with his trusted friend and electoral ally Pawan Kalyan of the Jana Sena and meet the Prime Minister and other NDA leaders. “We are with the NDA,” a top TD leader told Deccan Chronicle when asked about the TD’s role in national politics. The party, however, was silent on whether it would put riders on the BJP over its leadership or bargain a better deal for the state leaving the leadership issue to the saffron party. “It is their internal matter,” said another TD leader.
The 74-year-old astute politician not only withstood the onslaught of the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRC government in the last five years and rose like a phoenix winning 135 out of 175 Assembly seats but is also set to play decisive role in Delhi with 16 seats of his own and two of the Jana Sena.
Naidu’s first tryst with national politics began way back in 1988 when his father-in-law and then party chief N.T. Rama Rao cobbled together the anti-Congress alliance that gave birth to the National Front. The preparatory work was done by Naidu though from behind the curtains. In 1996 Naidu, who became Chief Minister after dethroning Rama Rao a few months later, was singularly credited with the United Front experiment that lasted for about 16 months and making H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral Prime Ministers. He even turned down the prime ministership during the period.
The TD chief was instrumental in installing the A.B. Vajpayee-led NDA government in 1999 and completing its term. It was in 2019 only that Naidu could not succeed in his attempts to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
