It's no secret that N Chandrababu Naidu, the President of Telugu Desam Party and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, has been fervently trying to redeem himself in the eyes of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for quite some time now.
Naidu has refrained from taking any measures that could antagonize the BJP. He supported BJP's official candidate in the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections and supported the Modi government's central budget and other decisions. Despite the fact that BJP's top brass has been unwilling to entertain him, Naidu hasn't given up his efforts to establish a rapport with the saffron party. Nonetheless, BJP leaders have made it abundantly clear that they have no intentions of forming an alliance with TDP again and that their only partner is Jana Sena Party led by power star Pawan Kalyan.
Amidst all these, Chandrababu Naidu hasn't said a word against the BJP. Amidst these circumstances, the recent induction of Kanna Lakshminarayana, the former BJP state president, into TDP raises questions about Naidu's intentions and the potential implications it could have on his relationship with the BJP.
Scores of BJP workers, including several who had previously served as district BJP presidents, also joined TDP alongside Kanna, shocking the saffron party. The grapevine is that several other BJP leaders, such as Vishnukumar Raju, Adinarayana Reddy, Kamineni Srinivas, and Varadapuram Suri, might also join TDP in the near future.
Apparently, the BJP national leadership has tried to pacify some of these leaders through discussions. It appears that the BJP leadership is taking note of the way Naidu has been admitting BJP leaders into TDP. However, Naidu has been careful not to make any remarks against the BJP before admitting them. Even those who are joining TDP are not making any comments on Delhi leaders but are instead focusing their grievances on the state BJP chief Somu Veerraju.
It remains to be seen how BJP will handle the situation, and if they decide to seek retribution against Naidu, it could pose significant problems for him ahead of the elections. Naidu's move to induct BJP leaders into TDP could be seen as a calculated strategy to antagonize BJP leadership, considering the latter's reluctance to engage with him. Whether or not this strategy pays off remains to be seen. However, Naidu's actions have certainly grabbed the attention of the BJP leadership, and their response could be a decisive factor in the upcoming elections.
