Decode Politics: Why TDP is in Delhi for another shot at alliance with BJP

Almost six years after the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) walked out of the BJP-led NDA, in March 2018, accusing it of ignoring pleas to grant Special Category Status (SCS) to a truncated Andhra Pradesh post the formation of Telangana in 2014, the Chandrababu Naidu-led outfit is close to rejoining the alliance.

Naidu arrived in Delhi on Thursday, in what party insiders called a last-ditch attempt to convince the top BJP leadership for an alliance. He huddled with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J P Nadda in a late-night meeting. Sources said actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan, whose party Jana Sena Party (JSP) is already in the NDA and in an alliance with TDP in Andhra Pradesh, also attended the meeting. Sources said the two parties have agreed in principle to an alliance and seat-sharing details are being worked out.

The BJP, which is yet to find its footing in Andhra Pradesh and received a drubbing in the last election in the state, is looking to increase its presence in the state. Allying with the TDP-JSP combine will only help it reach its ambitious target of 370 Lok Sabha seats set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As for the TDP, while the BJP may not bring much to the table electorally in Andhra, an alliance will reinforce its election machinery given the BJP’s organisational might.

“Apart from that, the tie-up will signal to the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which enjoys friendly relations with the BJP, that the Centre is on our side,” a senior TDP leader said, on the condition of anonymity.

The TDP chief’s arrest in the alleged Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation scam in September last year is also a factor in the party seeking security in having the Centre on its side. The JSP-TDP alliance