NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday announced plans to reactivate the TDP in Telangana. His statement, which came a day after his meeting with Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, left political analysts trying to figure out its implications.Earlier, Andhra Deputy CM and Jana Sena Party (JSP) supremo K Pawan Kalyan too had spoken about dabbling in Telangana politics. He had said the BJP and JSP would work as allies in Telangana. The TDP-JSP-BJP alliance is already in power in Andhra.Responding to Kalyan’s comment, Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay said the BJP high command would soon decide on the alliance’s continuation in Telangana.The TDP and BJP had an alliance in Telangana until the 2014 Assembly elections. The current political dynamics bode well for a reunion of these parties, with JSP joining the alliance. This raises questions about the future of main Opposition in Telangana, BRS.A former minister from BRS claimed that Naidu’s entry into Telangana would benefit the pink party. He said Telangana residents would not accept Naidu, who opposed the state’s formation. The BRS leader alleged that the recent meeting between Revanth and Naidu was aimed to revive TDP in Telangana. His comment assumes significance as Revanth was a key TDP leader before bifurcation of the state.Meanwhile, Congress leaders believe that any TDP revival would benefit their party by splitting votes between the Andhra alliance and BRS. However, political analysts disagree, saying that the Congress could lose votes since it had captured the TDP and JSP vote share in 2023 Assembly polls, as these parties did not contest.TDP leaders have hinted at contesting the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls, expected in 2025. TDP and BJP have strongholds in various Hyderabad areas and an alliance between them could improve their chances in Telangana.
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