Can you imagine YSR Congress party led by Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and Telugu Desam Party led by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu present in the same political camp?
More interestingly, how will it be if the Telangana Rashtra Samithi led by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also joins the same camp, forgetting its differences with the YSRC and the TDP?
Well, it is purely hypothetical one might say. But on Monday night, the members of these three parties attended a gala dinner thrown by senior Congress leader and former Union minister Kapil Sibal at his residence in Teen Murti lane in New Delhi, a day after his 73rd birthday.
The dinner conclave was not just a get-together hosted by Sibal on his birthday, but has a lot of political significance.
It was attended by representatives of only non-BJP parties, like Nationalist Congress party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, CPI, CPI (M), Trinamul Congress, National Conference, Shiv Sena, Aam Admi Party, DMK and Akali Dal.
What is more interesting is that Sibal also invited representatives of neutral parties like YSRC, TDP, TRS, Biju Janata Dal and Rashtriya Lok Dal, apart from the Congress leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Shashi Tharur and Chidambaram.
Though the dinner was a private affair, sources said it was primarily aimed at discussing how to build a strong anti-BJP front in the next three years.
Sibal reportedly spoke extensively on how the BJP was targeting democratic institutions.
Sibal’s strategy was to convey to the other non-BJP parties that the Congress cannot be ignored in forming the alternative to the BJP and that it would have to take the lead in stitching the unity among the opposition.
But one wonders why YSRC, TDP and TRS leaders chose to attend the dinner conclave even if Sibal called them.
They must have either thought it was just a birthday bash, or really felt the need to build up a Congress-led front to pull down the BJP.
The question is whether the leaders of these three parties have taken the approval of their bosses – Jagan, Naidu and KCR.
Definitely, none of these three bosses would have given permission for them to attend the dinner conclave.
It is an open secret that Naidu is trying to get closer to the BJP once again.
Jagan, though not happy with the BJP for now, cannot afford to antagonise with the BJP leadership at this stage and moreover, he hardly has any interest in national politics. He also treats the Congress party as a bitter enemy.
KCR would definitely not have given permission to his party leaders to attend Sibal’s dinner, as he is fighting against the Congress in the state and will never be part of the Congress-led camp. He wants to build up a federal front that is against both the Congress and the BJP.
So, how could this happen? Let us wait for more information on this front.
