If the reports coming from New Delhi are to be believed, the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership is said to be bringing pressure on YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to join the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.
According to these reports, the issue came up for discussion during the meeting of Jagan with Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi last week.
Shah reportedly told the chief minister to join the NDA unconditionally, if he wants any favours from the central government.
He also reportedly conveyed the offer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the YSRC about a couple of berths in the Union cabinet, which is likely to be expanded this week.
Since this is going to be the last expansion of the central cabinet, the YSRC might not get the chance again, Shah told Jagan.
The YSRC chief, however, is not interested in joining the NDA without securing any benefits from the Centre.
He has been insisting that the Centre should at least make a statement on considering special category status to Andhra Pradesh, besides approving the revised estimates for Polavaram project.
He is of the view that if the YSRC joins the NDA unconditionally, it would send a wrong message to the people that he has compromised with the Centre for the sake of coming out of the CBI cases against him.
“But at the same time, the only way to get some issues resolved, including the CBI cases, formation of three capitals and the nuisance of rebel MP Raghurama Krishnam Raju, is to become part of the Central government,” an analyst said.
It remains to be seen whether Jagan will take any decision in this regard before Narendra Modi takes up cabinet expansion.