With just five days left for the counting of votes for the general elections across the country, major political alliances—the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the I.N.D.I.A block led by the Congress—have started making efforts to increase their tallies by approaching neutral parties.
The I.N.D.I.A alliance has already issued a statement seeking the support of neutral parties and independents if it falls short of numbers to form the government.
Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress has announced that her party would extend support to the I.N.D.I.A block from outside if required to form the government at the Centre.
The I.N.D.I.A block is also seeking the support of the Biju Janata Dal to join their coalition.
Reports suggest that some senior leaders of the I.N.D.I.A alliance have approached YSR Congress Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, seeking his party’s support if necessary.
Expectations are that the YSRCP might win 10-12 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, which could be crucial in forming the government in a tightly contested election.
In the last five years, the YSRCP has maintained a close relationship with the NDA led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has refrained from making negative comments against the BJP, despite provocative statements by some BJP leaders.
However, when the BJP joined hands with the TDP before the elections, Jagan decided to cut off any understanding with the saffron party.
In an interview with senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai during the elections, Jagan made it clear that he won’t support the BJP after the elections.
“My party won't extend any kind of support to the Bharatiya Janata Party after the elections at the Centre if YSRCP wins a good number of MP seats in parliament elections. The BJP has lost its credibility after joining hands with the Telugu Desam Party," Jagan said.
The YSRCP chief also said the BJP had become a stooge of TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and reiterated that his party would not support it after the elections.
During the last budget sessions, Jagan stated that he would support a party at the Centre that was favorable to the state so that he could bargain for special category status.
When the I.N.D.I.A leaders contacted him, Jagan reportedly made it clear that his support would depend on granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh. They assured him that the Congress had already made such a promise, thus alleviating any doubts he might have.
Apparently, Jagan indicated that he would decide on his stance in the national political scenario only after the election results are announced.