After a long, long time, Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu will be leaving for New Delhi on August 6 to take part in the 75th year celebrations of Indian Independence.
According to the party sources, Naidu got an invitation from the Centre to attend the meeting of the national committee on Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav to be held at Rashtrapathi Bhavan Cultural Centre. The meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is not exactly known whether Naidu is part of the committee or just a guest. But his participation in the meeting to be chaired by Modi definitely assumes a lot of significance, as he has been treated as a persona non grata by the Centre all these years.
This is the first time that Naidu will be going to Delhi after a gap of three years. He has never got an opportunity to attend the meeting convened by the Prime Minister since he lost power in Andhra Pradesh in 2019.
So, for the first time after three years Naidu will meet and greet Modi personally. Speculations are rife that he might seek an appointment with Modi during his visit and if he gets, it will be a politically significant development for the TDP.
Since he lost power to the YSRCP in 2019, Naidu has been making every effort to restore the strained relations with the Bharatiya Janata Party national leadership. While making friendly gestures to the BJP over the years, there was no response from the BJP.
In the recent Presidential elections, the TDP extended unsolicited support to the BJP candidate Droupadi Murmu and had a hearty chat with the local BJP leaders. Maybe, he will make the best use of his Delhi visit on August 6 to restore the ties with the BJP again!
