Telugu Desam Party chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday night met Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda amid buzz over his return to saffron party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The meeting indicates that the two parties may join hands in Andhra Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
According to the sources, Nadda was also present at the Shah's residence during the crucial meeting.
If Naidu returns to NDA, this will be the second success for BJP-led alliance in strengthening to the ruling coalition. Recently, Janata Dal (United) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the opposition and joined hands with the BJP.
The TDP president is keen to make alliance the BJP and a section in the ruling party believes that partnership with Naidu will help the NDA do well in the state ruled by the YSR Congress, said the sources.
A senior BJP leader said his party is open to an alliance but it will all depend on how many seats the TDP, the main opposition party in the state, agrees to give it, especially for the Lok Sabha polls.
BJP and TDP fought polls together in 2014
Both had fought the 2014 polls together when Telangana was yet to be formally separated from Andhra Pradesh. The BJP had then fought three seats and won all of them out of the 42 seats in the united state.
BJP may bat for 6-8 seats
Following Telangana's creation, Andhra Pradesh has 25 seats and the BJP is keen to contest on anywhere between six to eight seats, sources said.
The TDP had walked out of the NDA in 2018 but suffered majorly in the 2019 polls when it could win only three Lok Sabha seats and lost power in the state to the YSR Congress, which has mostly supported the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on key issues for the last five years.
However, political equations have prompted the BJP to explore the possibility of reviving its ties with the TDP, which has been pursuing the matter in earnest for long. Actor Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party, which was a BJP ally, has already decided to join hands with the TDP.
(With PTI inputs)
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