After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in June 2014, both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been adopting independent strategies at the national level.
Between 2014 and 2018, the Telugu Desam Party which ruled Andhra Pradesh was a political ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party and was part of the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After the TDP snapped ties with the BJP and came out of the NDA, its president N Chandrababu Naidu turned a bitter enemy of Narendra Modi and even joined hands with the Congress to dislodge the BJP.
On the other hand, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government headed by K Chandrasekhar Rao maintained a neutral stand, though it did not approach a confrontationist approach. Though KCR mooted the concept of federal front, he was actually closer to the BJP.
Now, the new government in Andhra Pradesh headed by YSR Congress party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy appears to be completely a pro-BJP stand, though it is not going to join the NDA but will appear to be neutral.
According to analysts, KCR and Jagan will maintain this supposedly neutral stand at the national level, while indirectly supporting the BJP to get their own benefits. For that, they are going to adopt a common strategy.
In a way, both the Telugu states will behave like a combined state insofar as their national role is concerned. They will continue to support each other on achieving what is due to their states by maintaining cordial relations with the NDA.
“YSRCP and TRS will go together with 31 MPs, rather than 22 and 9 MPs separately in Lok Sabha,” a TRS leader said.