The sudden meeting of popular political strategist and founder of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) Prashant Kishor with Telugu Desam Party national general secretary and Andhra Pradesh information technology minister Nara Lokesh in New Delhi on Tuesday night led to a lot of speculations in the political circles.
Though the meeting appeared to be impromptu, sources said it was a pre-planned meeting, arranged at the request of Lokesh.
Apparently, Lokesh has sought Kishor’s help in the coming years, when he expected to take control of the party and the government, after his father N Chandrababu Naidu, mostly after next elections.
According to reports from New Delhi, Prashant Kishor is learnt to have advised Lokesh to continue good relations with the Bharatiya Janata Party at the national level at present in the best interest of the state, as the BJP is no big threat to the TDP in Andhra Pradesh, at least for now.
In fact, the Jan Suraj chief suggested that the TDP enter into an alliance with the BJP in Telangana as well, so that it can make its presence felt in the neighbouring state as well.
The TDP which still has some vote bank in Telangana, will definitely help the BJP in the local body elections and subsequently in the next assembly elections.
Lokesh is learnt to have explained to Prashant Kishor that there is a possibility of the BJP prompting the Jana Sena Party led by actor Pawan Kalyan to go independently in the next elections.
Apparently, the BJP is of the view that if Naidu retires from active politics after 2029 elections by handing over the party reins to Lokesh, the TDP may get weakened and the saffron party has a chance to gain a footing in the state with the support of Jana Sena Party.
Prashant Kishor, however, told Lokesh that as long as Jana Sena Party doesn’t grow in terms of building up its organisational network, it cannot win enough seats to come to power. The party is still facing the bankruptcy of leadership at the grassroots level.
However, Prashant Kishor is said to have submitted a report to Lokesh regarding public perception of the AP government and the lack of coordination among alliance parties at the ground level.
The TDP has to evaluate the feedback on the implementation of government schemes and strategise its action plan accordingly.
In this context, Prashant Kishor has reportedly given crucial suggestions and alerts regarding public expectations from the AP coalition government and the changing political equations.
