The Telugu Desam Party’s decision to quit the Union Government can have repercussions on the politics of Andhra Pradesh in the coming days. TDP supremo and State Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said he was compelled to take the step because the Modi regime had failed to accede to his party’s demands for special status for Andhra Pradesh, but Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley countered that the State had been given — and is being given — all that had been promised when the State was bifurcated to create Telangana. But the claims and counter-claims apart, it is politics that count for the moment.
Naidu is seeking to address his constituents as a messiah of the State and keep away the Congress, which must be working to make a comeback in the coming elections, both for the Lok Sabha and the State. Ironically, the Congress has waded into troubled waters by promising special status to Andhra Pradesh if it comes to power in 2019 at the Centre. Party president Rahul Gandhi said it would be the first thing his Government would do! Does the decision to withdraw the Ministers mean that the TDP would eventually pull out from the NDA itself? That is not clear yet; indeed, there is a small, though remote, possibility that Naidu may be persuaded to not even go ahead with the withdrawal of Ministers.
By not deciding to pull out from the NDA, the TDP has kept a window open for reconciliation, and both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the ruling State regime must work towards a patch-up in the larger interests of the State. Both the TDP and the NDA are committed to inclusive growth, and like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Naidu has a reputation for development-oriented governance and politics. However, the TDP must also appreciate that it is not possible for the Centre to be seen as overly favouring one State to the extent that it becomes a template for other States to make similar demands. Central finances could be in a mess if the Union Government succumbs to populist demands. At the same time, the Centre must find reasonable ways to placate the State Government.
Politically speaking, it is important for the BJP to retain as many regional alliances as it can in southern India where it is seeking to expand its influence. It needs coalition partners to also move towards a majority in the Rajya Sabha, which the NDA does not have at present and which has created problems for the ruling combine at the Centre.
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