The story has come a full circle for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Andhra Pradesh, who has been compelled to play a second fiddle to the regional parties rather than making an attempt to grow as an independent political force.
In the last five years, it was Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu who had successfully prevented the growth of Bharatiya Janata Party as an independent force in Andhra Pradesh by forging an alliance with it and nominating a BJP leader – Suresh Prabhu – to Rajya Sabha.
Thanks to the behind-the-screen support from present Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to the TDP, the BJP has virtually lost the chance of emerging as a big political force in AP, despite the fact that the party has emerged as a strong force at the national level.
The BJP could not win a single assembly seat or Lok Sabha seat in the state. Now, at a time when the party was making some efforts to sustain its identity in the state by joining hands with the Jana Sena Party, the ruling YSR Congress party led by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has shattered all its plans.
The nomination of Reliance Industries Limited group president (corporate affairs) Parimal D Nathwani to Rajya Sabha by Jagan has virtually sealed the fate of Bharatiya Janata Party in Andhra Pradesh.
Sources say Jagan had given the RS seat to Nathwani only on the recommendations of the BJP national leadership, particularly Union home minister Amit Shah. And it is part of an overall understanding between the YSRC and the BJP national leadership for a mutual cooperation.
The national party has apparently realised that there is no scope for any growth in Andhra Pradesh independently in the near future because of the presence of strong regional parties like the YSRC and the TDP. The BJP can have a chance to grow only if the TDP is completely decimated.
For that, the BJP has to join hands with the YSRC at least for the time being and once the TDP is finished, then it can think of emerging as an alternative to the YSRC.
Secondly, the BJP requires strong support from YSRC in parliament, which has 22 Lok Sabha members and six RS members (including the four to be elected shortly).
Though YSRC might not join the NDA government now for its own reasons and might confine itself to lending external support, it is enough for the BJP for the time being since it doesn’t have enough strength in the south.
So, the BJP can put off its plans to grow independently!
