The current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is actively campaigning across the state in preparation for the upcoming elections. His campaign, known as “Siddham,” aims to cover all 175 Assembly constituencies, boosting the morale of his party members and projecting a sense of invincibility. However, the opposition parties are also making strategic moves to counter his influence.
Recently, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) managed to secure a place in the NDA alliance for the third time, with the support of the BJP. Interestingly, another party, the Jana Sena Party (JSP) led by K. Pawan Kalyan, is already aligned with the BJP in Telangana and separately with the TDP in Andhra Pradesh.
N. Chandrababu Naidu, a veteran politician who has served as Chief Minister three times, has a history of strategic alliances. He played a crucial role in preventing the BJP from forming the government in 1996 and subsequently supported alliance governments led by H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral. He later joined the NDA and helped Atal Behari Vajpayee become Prime Minister twice.
Despite shifting alliances over the years, Mr. Naidu has been making efforts to gain the support of the Modi-Shah duo in recent times. With the upcoming Assembly elections approaching, the alliance of the BJP, TDP, and JSP is hoping to challenge the dominance of the YSR Congress Party led by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
While Mr. Naidu sees the alliance as a strategic advantage, he has faced challenges within the coalition and from dissenting members. The alliance aims to leverage the leadership of Mr. Modi to compete effectively against Mr. Reddy, with Mr. Naidu banking on his history of successful alliances to secure a victory in the upcoming elections.