BackStrained ties with Chandrababu Naidu hit Chandrashekhar Rao’s bid for federal front
Chandrababu Naidu's TDP, currently anti-BJP after the Andhra Pradesh was not given special category status by the Modi govt, has not been approached so far by Chandrashekhar Rao's TRS for the formation of federal front
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Hyderabad: Ever since he announced his plans to form a non-Congress and non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) front, Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has met a handful of opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, who visited Hyderabad on 2 May.
However, the party that actually fits the bill perfectly has not been approached so far. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is in power in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh (AP), is currently anti-BJP and is also not expected to join hands with the Congress as it was formed by N.T. Rama Rao solely as a counter to the national party. However, it is nowhere in the scenario.
Given the bitterness that arose from Telangana’s bifurcation from AP four years ago, and Rao’s rocky history with TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, it is to be seen if the former is actually ready to work with Naidu. After all, Rao, also known as KCR, walked out of the TDP after being denied a cabinet berth and formed the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which took up the cause of separate statehood.
“We are bringing together people who speak different languages currently, so why not AP as well? The only major issue between Andhra and Telangana is the sharing of Krishna river water, which is being heard by a tribunal. Once that is solved, things will be fine. Our goal is to bring people together," stated a TRS leader.
Political analyst Palwai Raghavendra Reddy, however, pointed out that if Rao had wanted to reach out to Naidu, he would have done it by now. “The two are still political rivals in Telangana and there have been defections from TRS to the TDP. KCR, who could use TDP’s support for the front, will probably wait to see Naidu’s stand on Telangana during the 2019 assembly and general elections," he said.
KCR had, during his meeting with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders in Chennai, even said that he is open to discussing with Naidu the issue of bringing regional parties together. A senior TRS leader, who did not want to be named, said that Naidu is not an opponent anymore and added that there is a possibility that the two states could work together on the issue.
However, TDP leaders ruled out joining hands with the TRS now, and said that no such overture has been made by Rao. “Since KCR talked about it, let him come and discuss it. Our leader will take decisions about joining other parties at an appropriate time. As of now, we are only concentrating on AP and the special category status," said a senior TDP leader, who did not want to be quoted.
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