For N Chandrababu Naidu, one of the senior-most politicians in the country, it’s the most relishing success so far. Naidu, who was ruled out by many till a few months ago, has emerged as a key party member in national politics by winning 16 seats in the elections.
In his mid-seventies, when he was reduced to just 23 out of 175 seats in the 2019 elections, everyone thought the game was over for him. It’s not to be. A politician with a never-say-die attitude, Naidu weathered several storms, including an attack by Naxalites in 2002, later defeated by Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in 2024, and a humiliating defeat in the hands of Jagan Mohan Reddy.
All set to bag 80 per cent of the seats in the 175-seat-strong Andhra Pradesh Assembly and 21 seats in Lok Sabha, the NDA alliance in Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the most formidable States for the alliance in the country.
A shrewd politician that he is, Naidu knew well that he couldn’t take on Jagan Mohan Reddy on his own. He allied with film actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party, which has huge support among the Kapus, a dominant caste in the State—and convinced the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to let him in the NDA. That was difficult because Naidu had angered Narendra Modi and Amit Shah just before the 2019 elections.
Cut up with his strong criticism, Modi and Amit Shah kept Naidu at arm’s length for over four years. But, it was Naidu who saw the importance of joining the NDA. He saw two advantages – surrogate support from the national law-enforcing agencies and reprieve from the election-time highhandedness at the hands of the State Government.
He had to eat his humble pie and wait for over four days in Delhi along with his Pawan Kalyan. He could finally convince the BJP and join the NDA alliance.
National role
By winning 16 seats in the Lok Sabha, the TDP has emerged as a key player in national politics. For starters, it is not the first time for the TDP to play an important role. From 1999 to 20023, Naidu was A B Vajpayee’s Man Friday. He even influenced the then BJP’s Central leadership that time to go for early polls.
With the NDA alliance winning a slender majority at the Centre, political analysts have already started discussing what role Naidu would play in the formation of the Government. Some even hinted what would happen to the NDA alliance if Chandrababu Naidu and Niteesh Kumar, both belong to the same school of politics, switch loaylties to the INDIA bloc.