As the 38 national and regional political parties under the banner of NDA are meeting in the national capital today, all eyes are on TDP. Chandrababu Naidu was part of this group for three decades and had been an active player whenever the NDA met. But this time, Naidu is a silent spectator to the meeting.
The BJP leaders who have convened the meeting have not invited the TDP chief to participate in the meeting. They have at the same time invited a couple of its former allies, like Lok Jan Sakthi of late Ram Vilas Paswan.
BJP chief J P Nadda, had told the media that the decision to join the NDA or keep away was left to the TDP. He wanted the TDP to take a call on whether to align with the NDA or stay away. This would mean that Chandrababu Naidu would have to take a decision and announce. The BJP leaders want Chandrababu Naidu to volunteer to join the NDA.
Naidu left the NDA in 2018 and joined the UPA, which is led by the Congress. He had contested the Telangana Assembly elections in alliance with the Congress in the same year. However, he did not extend the alliance to the Congress in the subsequent year in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections. He broke the alliance with the Congress immediately after the 2019 elections.
Today, after four years, Chandrababu Naidu is neither with the NDA team nor part of the UPA team. As the NDA parties meet in Delhi, the UPA parties are holding a similar strategic meeting in Bengaluru. The TDP chief was not invited as he is keeping equal distance from both the NDA and the UPA.
As he remains a silent spectator to the national political scene, for the first time in three decades, it is now to be seen what move Naidu would make from his side. He is keen on winning power in Andhra Pradesh in the 2024 general election. He is extensively touring in the state, besides his son Nara Lokesh, who is a padayatra now.
It is crucial for Naidu to take a call on his political affiliation – whether he would align with the NDA or remain independent and fight the election.
