Jagan's Political Maneuver's Fuel Speculation of YSCRP Joining The NDA
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-10-07 09:11:17
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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The buzz in the capital is that the YSR Congress is likely to join the NDA soon. This has been fueled by the meeting between Jagan Mohan Reddy and Prime Minister Modi on Monday. A fortnight earlier, Jagan had met Amit Shah. The two meetings, in quick succession, have led observers to believe that something is cooking.
The BJP needs to expand the NDA which has shrunk with the departure of the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal, two of its closest allies. It also needs to expand its footprint in south India. Andhra Pradesh offers a good platform as the Congress has been totally vanquished in the state and the Telugu Desam has been marginalized. The BJP can hope to complement the YSR Congress by grabbing votes that traditionally went to these parties.
Further, with Andhra being a major paddy procurement state, it will be good for the BJP if YSR Congress comes on board and adopts the new farm bills in the state. The BJP can then showcase it as the model and counter the alleged misinformation being spread in Punjab.
But will the alliance benefit YSR Congress? Firstly, joining the NDA will not guarantee the grant of special status to the state. Without this, Jagan will have nothing to show his constituents. The state is reeling under revenue deficit ever since Telangana was carved out and special Central support is necessary. Jagan had also promised to work for it during election campaigning.
Further, the Telugu Desam has been quick to allege that Jagan is bowing before the BJP to get the CBI cases against him quashed. Although Jagan has denied the charges, quid pro quo can be one of the reasons why Jagan is thinking of (if he is) moving from being a strategic sympathizer to joining the alliance.
Then, there is the question of the BJP shouldering in heavily in the state where right now YSR Congress is the lord of all it surveys. Right wing activists have already started criticizing Jagan for the attacks on temples recently. Jagan also knows that the BJP is very endearing when courting but becomes rough once the deal is done. He has the record of how the BJP has been treating its alliance partners in the recent past. Hence, while it will be better for Jagan to be neutral and offer support from outside, the BJP would want him to join the NDA and bring comfort in the Rajya Sabha.
