It looks like the Bharatiya Janata Party is taking the support of YSR Congress party and its president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy for granted either before or after the next general elections.
During the ongoing debates in the media or the pre-election surveys, the YSRC is being shown as the prospective supporter of the BJP in the pre-poll or post-poll scenario.
Every media report coming from the north indicates YSRC as a friendly part of the BJP. Even in the latest Mood of the Nation survey conducted by prominent media house India Today, the YSRC was shown as an ally of the BJP.
Interestingly, talk to any national leader of the BJP about the coming elections, the answer that comes from them is that the party is going to get new allies in place of those who had quit the NDA like the Telugu Desam Party. And YSRC figures prominently among the new allies.
The reason why the BJP leaders have taken the YSRC support for granted could be the party’s stand at the Centre in the last one year, like the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections, GST bill and its recent neutral stand during the deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha elections.
At the same time, there is no chance of the TDP returning to the NDA fold, as it appears to tilting towards the Congress party.
And Pawan Kalyan is no big force to reckon with for the BJP and moreover, he is sailing along with the Communist parties. So, the only friendly party that the BJP feels is YSRC.
Though Jagan has been saying that his party would go it alone in the coming elections, he has not openly denied joining the BJP alliance in the post-poll scenario as well.
All that he is saying is that he would support any party that grants special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
But with Modi being so adamant on not granting the status to AP, one has to see whether the YSRC will still go with the BJP, as is being claimed by the saffron leaders.
