Will TDP really support BJP in Telangana?

Telugu Desam Party general secretary Nara Lokesh’s surprise meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi along with Andhra Bharatiya Janata Party president Daggubati Purandeshwari and her Telangana counterpart G Kishan Reddy a couple of days ago triggered severs speculations in the media circles.

One such speculation is that the BJP had sought the support of the TDP, along with Jana Sena Party, in the upcoming Telangana assembly elections.

Apparently, Kishan Reddy told Shah that a support from the TDP, which still has some percentage of vote bank in Telangana, would help the party to a large extent.

He reportedly pointed out to Shah that the arrest of TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra evoked strong protests in several parts of Telangana, particularly from the Information Technology (IT) employees.

At the same time, many Andhra people in Telangana, who had voted for the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in the last assembly elections, are disgruntled with the BRS this time and are looking for alternative political forces.

They might shift towards the Congress, if the BJP doesn’t put up a tough fight. If the TDP extends support to the BJP, there is a possibility of they voting for the party, Kishan Reddy reportedly told Shah.

These speculating sources also point out that the recent meeting between BJP national president J P Nadda with media barons Ch Ramoji Rao of Eenadu and Vemuri Radhakrishna of Andhra Jyothy, both known for their blatant pro-TDP stand, was also meant for seeking the TDP support to the BJP in Telangana.

One wonders how much of this speculation is a fact or fiction.

For, the BJP has not been inclined to having any kind of alliance with the TDP, as is being witnessed in Andhra Pradesh. If the BJP national leadership is in favour of Naidu, Jagan would not have dared throw him behind the bars and harass him physically and mentally.

So, the BJP cannot be friendly with the TDP in Telangana and the oppose the same party in Andhra Pradesh. It would have definitely come to the rescue of Naidu by this time.

At the same time, the pro-TDP groups have been extensively campaigning on social media that Jagan has all the blessings of the BJP national leadership in arresting and prosecuting Naidu in various cases. Though they are not saying in public, several TDP leaders are also of the same opinion.

Even the so-called supporters of the TDP among the IT employees and settlers in Telangana are of the view that the BJP national leadership was behind Naidu’s arrest.

So, it is unlikely that they would vote for the BJP in Telangana, even if there is any such understanding, if not alliance.

So, for now, it remains just a speculation and a kite-flying story doing rounds in the social media!