New Delhi: J P Nadda & Amit Shah meet Naidu; Buzz on tieup

New Delhi : Will TDP be back in the NDA fold? This question assumes importance as the Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself invited TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu for a meeting in Delhi. Naidu flew down to Delhi on Saturday afternoon and met with Amit Shah late in the evening.

The presence of BJP national president J P Nadda at the meeting lent credence to speculations that the BJP and the TDP are likely to cosy up once again.

It is being said that the BJP is keen to have alliance or understanding with TDP both in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Sources said that the TBJP leaders who had met Shah sometime back gave a report that TDP can be a deciding factor in about 20-25 seats in Telangana and, hence, it would be advantageous to join hands with Naidu. The TBJP is also said to have impressed upon the national party that since elections in Telangana are due in November, a quick decision should be taken. The TBJP is worried that its efforts to wean away some disgruntled BRS leaders like Jupally Krishna Rao and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy did not make much headway.

On the top of it, the outcome of Karnataka Assembly where BJP lost power has come handy for the BRS and it is making all-out efforts to show that BJP cannot be a force to reckon with. Even the T Congress has decided to go aggressive and started feeling that it is the real opposition to KCR.

Against this backdrop, the meeting of Amit Shah and JP Nadda with Naidu assumes much importance.

As far as Andhra Pradesh is concerned, it may be recalled that recently Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan had met BJP national leadership and told them that Jana Sena, BJP and TDP should join hands to fight against the YSRCP. He also told them that the AP BJP was a divided house, and this could harm the alliance with Jana Sena. He was said to have made it clear that he was in favour of going with Naidu to prevent the split of anti-government votes. Later, Pawan told media that he was now confident that the anti-YSRCP votes would not be split, indicating that the BJP was not averse to his proposal.