Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought back the buzz of the YSR Congress Party’s possible alliance with the BJP.
The two leaders had a 40-minute-long discussion Tuesday, in a meeting scheduled in New Delhi amid the Covid-19 pandemic. This is Jagan’s second trip to the national capital in just over two weeks — he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in his previous trip on 23-24 September.
“All I can say is deliberations are going on from the chief minister’s side,” a top official from the Andhra government told ThePrint.
The Jagan-Modi meeting fuelled further speculation about the two parties joining hands, something that began with Jagan’s visit to Delhi in February this year. Andhra Urban Development Minister Botsa Satyanarayana had said in a statement at the time that the YSRCP was not averse to joining the Modi government, if it benefitted Andhra Pradesh. He said the party was ready to go to any extent for the benefit of the state. He also reportedly stated that its support to the Centre would be issue-based.
However, YSRCP leaders have denied any plans to join the National Democratic Alliance, or the presence of any offer from the BJP, just like they have done all along.
“We have not got any proposal from that side (NDA)… If you look at the realistic picture, BJP has a majority on its own and I do not think they will need us. As a regional party, our interests and goals are limited to the state. We are not thinking anything else apart from fulfilling the interests of the state. And our line of thinking will always be that,” said Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, public affairs advisor to the Andhra Pradesh government, in an interview to a regional channel Tuesday.
“We are not thinking about any cabinet berths at this point of time. If a situation arises in the future, we will only think about what we can ask for the welfare of the state and not bag 2-4 cabinet berths like Chandrababu Naidu,” Reddy said.
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Tuesday’s meeting
In the latest Jagan-Modi meeting Tuesday, the YSRCP chief is said to have discussed several issues related to Andhra, and sought assistance for its development.
According to news agency PTI, the CM requested the PM for early release of pending revenue grant of Rs 10,000 crore; Rs 3,250 crore funds for the Polavaram project; and also about setting up of a high court in Kurnool district.
Party sources also pointed out that the CM and other leaders are particular about ‘special status’ being granted to Andhra Pradesh, a demand that spearheaded the political campaign in Andhra during the 2019 polls.
YSRCP leaders had earlier said they would meet Modi to also highlight the Amaravati land deal scam gag order, and request a CBI inquiry. The Andhra government also wanted a CBI inquiry into the FiberNet scam.
After the meeting with Modi, CM Jagan also attended an apex council meeting with Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao over the Krishna-Godavari river water sharing issue over video-conferencing.
Political arithmetic
With a total strength of 28 MPs — 22 in the Lok Sabha and six in the Rajya Sabha — the YSRCP could be a strong asset and ally for the BJP at a time when it has lost its two oldest allies, the Shiv Sena and the Shiromani Akali Dal in the last one year.
Jagan’s party has extended its support to the NDA on most bills in Parliament, including the recent farm bills that have been passed into law. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which rules Andhra’s neighbouring state, had opposed it.
However, political analyst Telakapalli Ravi told ThePrint that most of the speculation about an alliance is a smokescreen.
“It is really a propaganda buzz. The BJP would prefer YSRCP’s support from outside, as communal equations would not match a political expediency. YSRCP too is playing safe and keeps praising BJP separately. This alliance would mean that Jagan’s party vote base in AP may be affected as state demands remain unmet so far, while BJP’s Hindutva image could suffer if they join hands with a party that they themselves have branded as pro-Christian,” Ravi said.
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