Hyderabad: National Democratic Alliance key ally and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is on a whirlwind Tamil Nadu tour, just three days shy of the TN assembly polls, to rally support for the NDA’s candidates in key battlegrounds.
Naidu joins a star list of BJP campaigners such as Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who the NDA has deployed in the penultimate hour to queer the pitch for its opponent, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), of which the Congress is a part.
Starting in Coimbatore Monday, Naidu canvassed the western or Kongu region of Tamil Nadu, traditionally the stronghold of the All-India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the senior partner in the TN Opposition, in which the BJP is the junior ally.
Tamil Nadu assembly elections are scheduled in a single phase on 23 April, with vote counting taking place on 4 May.
Naidu’s tour to Sattur and Madurai in western and southern Tamil Nadu will be watched closely by the Opposition, as the two constituencies are heavily dominated by a native Telugu-speaking population. BJP President Nainar Nagendran is contesting from Sattur, and Professor Madurai Srinivasan, who belongs to the linguistic minority ‘Reddiar’, is contesting from Madurai, presenting the NDA’s vision for growth in Tamil Nadu.
“Naidu’s participation in the Tamil Nadu rallies could bear significant outcomes if the Telugus decide to vote for the NDA. Western Tamil Nadu, which is dotted with textile, poultry, and engineering industries, has a high concentration of settlers from Andhra. If Naidu can convince them of the NDA’s vision for the state’s economic growth and inclusive progress—which has been the DMK’s slogan—the NDA alliance could upset the SPA significantly,” said Sri Kumar Kannan, a political observer.
The border regions of Thali and Hosur also have Telugu populations employed in automobile factories and could be on the AP CM’s “economic” charm offensive list.
Elaborate arrangements have been made for Naidu’s roadshow and rallies, the BJP cadre told ThePrint. Along with lifelike cutouts and banners across Tamil Nadu’s skyline, they added that the rallies are planned to host crowds exceeding 10,000 people.
While Naidu’s campaigns will be largely confined to the BJP’s constituencies, his road shows in Chennai, where the AIADMK holds most seats, could help appeal to Telugus living in the city, particularly the Naidus and Reddys.
Nearly 40 percent of Chennai is inhabited by Telugu speakers, given that Andhra Pradesh was previously part of the British-ruled Madras Presidency before the states were bifurcated on a linguistic basis in 1956.
Naidu’s rally in Chennai and Avadi is scheduled for Tuesday.
In Chennai city, barring Mylapore, a highly Brahmin-dominated constituency, the rest of the seats are being contested by AIADMK’s senior-most candidates. Nearby, the BJP is contesting only one seat on the outskirts of the city—Avadi.
“The last time Naidu campaigned actively across Tamil Nadu was when the former TN chief minister J. Jayalalitha invited him to campaign for her. Naidu and the Telugu Desam Party were part of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) that was formed to remain equidistant from both the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the BJP-led NDA. The UNPA, formed in 2006, had many stalwarts in it, particularly all ex-chief ministers from different states,” Sri Kumar told ThePrint. Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav, AIADMK’s J. Jayalalitha, Indian National Lok Dal’s Om Prakash Chautala, and Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Ajit Singh were also part of the UNPA.
The Andhra Pradesh CM’s rally comes on the back of a poor run for the NDA in Parliament last week, when it failed to garner support for the three-package 131st constitutional amendment bill. With Naidu and his deputy, K. Pawan Kalyan, defending the NDA and vouching support for the bill, the Andhra CM is now expected to counter the argument of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin that the bill would lead to the political marginalisation of southern Indian states.
On Saturday, Naidu, sharing his argument in defence of the bill, said on X, “The Opposition’s narrative against delimitation was wrong. Seats would have increased, not reduced, and PM Modi gave assurance.” He reiterated his stance at a district meeting in East Godavari the same day, stating that southern and smaller states would stand to gain, rather than lose, due to the delimitation.
Calling the Opposition’s rejection of the bill “illogical and unfounded”, Naidu rejected all concerns, saying that the practice of delimitation on past Census data was established during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure and put on freeze till 2026.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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