For the last 24 hours, media has been agog with speculations that YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy might go in for early elections to the state assembly.
The speculations began doing rounds after Jagan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Wednesday.
These two leaders are learnt to have advised Jagan to go in for early elections in order to overcome the anti-incumbency in the state.
Apparently, the BJP leadership is of the view that early elections in Andhra Pradesh would give some clarity to the party during the Lok Sabha elections.
Since both YSRCP and Telugu Desam Party are eager to be friendly with the BJP, it wants to take the best advantage of the situation.
If the YSRCP retains power in Andhra Pradesh, the BJP can continue to maintain good relationship with Jagan, so that he would come to the support of the BJP in case it fall short of majority in Lok Sabha.
If the TDP comes to power in the assembly elections in Andhra, the BJP might invite it again into the NDA and gain the support in Lok Sabha. Either way, the early elections would be an advantage for the BJP.
However, Jagan is learnt to have politely turned down the suggestion. He told the BJP central leadership that he was not averse to the early elections in Andhra Pradesh, provided the BJP also goes in for early elections to Lok Sabha.
He wants both the assembly and LS polls together, so that it would be advantageous to the YSRCP. It is not immediately known what the reaction of Modi and Shah was. They, however, reportedly told him to think again and come back to them.