Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu and Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan are still stranded in Delhi as the stalemate on the BJP joining their alliance in Andhra Pradesh continues endlessly.
As per the TDP and Janasena sources, the two leaders have decided to stay back in Delhi until they get their next appointment with BJP strongman and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for further negotiations. Both Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan are said to have again met Amit Shah at that latter’s residence on Saturday morning.
Earlier, on Thursday night, they held a one-and-a-half hour-long deliberations with Amit Shah. After that meeting, they left Amit Shah’s residence without sharing any details with the media on the outcome of their discussions, thus raising suspicions that the issue was still hanging fire.
On Friday, the two were confined to their respective places of stay, waiting the whole day for a word from Amit Shah’s office. Chandrababu Naidu is staying at Galla Jayadev’s residence while Pawan Kalyan is reportedly spending his time at Hotel Taj Mahal on Man Singh Road.
The TDP and Janasena sources claim that Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan met Amit Shah before the latter embarked on a day-long official visit to Patna in Bihar and elsewhere. While an official announcement is still awaited, the pro-TDP camp and their media organs are claiming that a formal seat-sharing deal has been finalised, paving the way for the alliance with the BJP.
Among the latest from this stable, it is being propagated that the BJP finally agreed on Saturday morning to share eight Lok Sabha seats and 30 Assembly seats with the Janasena, a so-called NDA partner.
But interestingly, these deals are being made only on the pro-Chandrababu television channels and daily newspapers. Against this backdrop, let’s take a look at various speculative reports on BJP’s demands that rent the air during the entire alliance saga since it gathered momentum last month:
It’s really unsafe to deal with Chandrababu Naidu again given his betrayals to the NDA in the past. Still, the alliance is a ‘necessary evil’ in its plans to augment the Lok Sabha numbers, especially in South India.
Go for a ‘hard-bargain’ approach with Chandrababu Naidu since he himself is craving for the alliance. Grab maximum Lok Sabha seats from Andhra Pradesh, even if some of those are perceived to be the TDP strongholds.
The popularity of both Chandrababu Naidu and TDP are on the wane, as intelligence and other internal reports say so. So, adopt a calibrated election-centric approach wherein the YSRCP too does not feel that its feathers were ruffled. The strategic support that the YS Jagan-led ruling party in Andhra Pradesh had extended to the NDA government on some crucial bills should not be completely glossed over.
Amit Shah to Chandrababu: “Naidu ji, you are old enough now to take rest from active politics in Andhra Pradesh. You please leave that to us (BJP) and the Janasena. Here are the various internal reports that predict your second successive defeat in the State. After all your 45 years of active public life, you deserve rest now at this age.”
“Like the seat-sharing, there should be power-sharing too, if the alliance comes to power in Andhra Pradesh. Here is our formula – Either a BJP senior leader of the State or Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan should be made the chief minister in first turn. The term should at least last from six months to two years.”
“Both Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan should contest for Lok Sabha instead of Assembly polls. Either of them or both would be accommodated in the Central cabinet post elections.” (In other words, it is like asking the TDP to play a mere pedestrian role in state politics so that the BJP steps in to fill the vacuum.)
Latest on Saturday, March 9, 2024: The BJP has agreed in principle to share eight Lok Sabha seats with Jana Sena (six to BJP and two to Janasena). This, if holds good, means a climbdown of one seat for Janasena. Similarly, the BJP and Janasena will share 30 Assembly seats (24 to JSP and six to BJP).
The fate of Raghuramakrishnam Raju, rebel YSRCP MP from Narsapuram, hangs in balance. The Narsapuram seat is likely to go to BJP in seat-sharing. While the temperamental leader hopes to be nominated by the BJP, the saffron party dashed his hopes by proposing the names of his wife Shyamala Devi and Narendra Varma.
The latest and the ‘mother of all’ is about Pawan Kalyan’s electoral contest. It is strongly speculated that Pawan Kalyan will be fielded for Lok Sabha and is expected to choose Anakapalle. This, if true, explains why his brother Nagababu’s name was initially floated as the JSP candidate from this constituency but was later dropped from the contention, with no serious explanation on that. The BJP, as per speculations, will draft him into the Union cabinet if he wins his Lok Sabha seat.