The meeting of Telugu Desam Party general secretary Nara Lokesh with Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Wednesday night has triggered a lot of speculations in the political circles.
While Lokesh claimed that he had met Shah only to explain the ongoing developments in the state and the alleged witch-hunting of his father and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government, the YSR Congress Party has lost no time in giving the meeting a twist.
If Lokesh was to meet Shah only to complain against the Jagan government for targeting his father and him, implicating them in various cases ahead of the assembly elections in the state, why did he take his aunt and state BJP president Daggubati Purandeshwari along with him?
And why was Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy also in the meeting? Was it purely a coincidence or is there any strategy behind his presence at the meeting?
The YSRCP leaders have started speculating answers to these questions.
According to the talk going rounds in the YSRCP circles, Lokesh had proposed merger of the TDP with the BJP by 2024 assembly elections in Andhra since the yellow party has lost its steam after the arrest of Naidu.
The talk is that if Naidu is continued to remain in jail for a long time, he might not be in a position to lead the party to fight the elections.
While Jana Sena Party led by power star Pawan Kalyan extended his party’s support to the TDP, they cannot do anything without the blessings of the BJP.
So, Lokesh has suggested that if the BJP could bail out Naidu from the cases, the TDP could merge with the BJP in Andhra Pradesh and they could come to power with the combined strength along with Pawan Kalyan. Only condition is that Naidu should be made the chief ministerial candidate.
While Purandeshwari endorsed this idea, Kishan Reddy said if there is such a development, it would also help the BJP in the November 30 assembly elections in Telangana. Apparently, Shah did not immediately react to the proposal.
Nobody knows how far this speculation is correct, but if anything of that sort happens, it will be the end of the road for Naidu, as there is going to be strong revolt within the TDP, say analysts.