It is now more or less certain that the Telugu Desam Party has snapped the ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Now, the question is what he would do in the coming days.
Though TDP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is refusing to comment on what his next steps would be, party sources say he would come out with a clear stand in the coming days.
As the things stand now, Naidu cannot join hands with the Congress party; nor can he go back to the BJP fold after coming to this stage.
So, what are the options?
Sources said Naidu would try to negotiate with the other parties and gain the support.
In any case, Jana Sena Party founded by power star Pawan Kalyan, who had supported the TDP in 2014 elections, will come to his rescue.
The Communist parties, too, might come to his support, as he has now come out of the BJP fold and they, too, can benefit to some extent by getting some seats.
For playing a bigger role at the national level, the TDP can join the proposed third front being planned by Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP.
Both the parties are angry with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not granting special category status to AP and denying increased reservations to Muslims.
If the two parties come together, they have a stronger voice in Delhi and get their demands including special category status achieved.
Even if the front may not be able to form the government at the Centre in 2019, Naidu and KCR can have their say in Delhi since the chances of the Congress and the BJP getting absolute majority at the Centre are bleak.
