Ever since the arrest of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu in the skill development scam case, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders have been seeking a meeting with the top brass in the Central government about “political vendetta” against the leadership.
Meeting President Droupadi Murmu, TDP MPs had earlier written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.
Late on Wednesday evening, Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh had a meeting with Amit Shah for nearly 20 minutes. It was a “heart to heart meeting”, Lokesh told News18.
Lokesh briefed Shah at length about the merits of the case against Naidu and why TDP feels it’s a classic case of regime revenge. While Shah gave him a very patient hearing, it was later that he told Lokesh about YSR’s interpretation. “The home minister told me that YSRCP and Jagan have blamed ‘us’ (BJP/Centre) for the cases against Naidu,” Lokesh further told News18.
Alongside Lokesh, BJP Andhra Pradesh president and NTR’s daughter D Purandeswari, and BJP Telangana president G Kishan Reddy, who coordinated with Lokesh for the meeting with Shah, were also present.
Despite political uncertainty in Andhra Pradesh, vis à vis the BJP alliance, there was no political discussion during the meeting. “We raised the issue about the jail conditions in Rajahmundry where Naidu has been lodged and, in particular, the imminent threat to his life,” Lokesh told News18. Shah will look into the merits, the TDP leadership was assured after the meeting.
Politically, Andhra Pradesh is interestingly placed. On one side, it’s a battle between regional players such as YSRCP and TDP, with Jana Sena Party in the NDA, on the other hand, Pawan Kalyan, who met Naidu in jail, has announced alliance with TDP.
It is learnt from reliable sources that the BJP is keen on having an alliance with TDP, who was once the former ally in the state and Centre. But there has been no clarity from either side on the same so far.
After being part of the Modi government at the Centre in 2014, 2019, the TDP walked out of the NDA alliance over failure to fulfil promises of Andhra Pradesh development. After coming to power in the state in 2019, Jagan Reddy’s party has been friendly with the ruling BJP. YSR Congress had supported the Central government on bills in Parliament and the NDA candidate for Vice-President and President.
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power with absolute majority, overthrowing Naidu-led TDP government in 2019. Even in the Lok Sabha elections, YSR Congress managed to win 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats.
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