Both Jagan Mohan Reddy of the YSRCP and K Chandrashekhar Rao of the TRS seemed to have adopted a wait-and-watch strategy.
After the exit polls for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 projected a comfortable majority for the BJP-led NDA, there seems to be a jittery headspace in the Opposition's political camps, as the upcoming results on May 23 are likely to result in a skirmish of several political allegiances against each other for electoral gains.
In this tussle for transactions and engagements, serious efforts are being made to induct Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) into forming an anti-NDA front, according to an Indian Express report.
This is in light of the exit polls, almost all of which have shown major gains for both the YSRCP and the TRS, in Andhra Pradesh and in Telangana respectively, where they are predicted to be the dominant parties.
In Andhra Pradesh, the question of allegiance gains special significance considering the fact that Jagan Mohan Reddy's political rival, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of the Telegu Desam Party (TDP), is, in fact, one of the Opposition's big guns organising the anti-NDA front.
Naidu's TDP fought the recent Telangana assembly elections in alliance with the Congress and he has recently been seen actively working for the Opposition, attending several events alongside Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
Meanwhile, the YSRCP, expected to win around 18-20 out of Andhra Pradesh's total of 25 Lok Sabha seats, according to most exit polls, do not seem open about being part of a front that includes the Congress. According to the report, when another stalwart of the anti-NDA fraternity, Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), tried to reach out to Reddy he skipped the call.
Reddy, however, has always maintained siding with whoever promises special status for Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana sees a similar situation on the rise. Exit polls on Sunday predicted anywhere between 10-14 seats for the TRS, out of the state's 17 total Lok Sabha seats. Party President K Chandrashekhar Rao is likely to adopt a wait-and-watch strategy as he is expected to engage in talks with the Opposition only after the results are declared.
However, sources say that in the Opposition's post-poll discussions, one of the options of bringing TRS' lucrative share of seats into the fold is an offer of a high office for KCR — if the numbers permit.
“What if there is an offer of deputy prime ministership on the table, provided the situation permits,” asked a senior Opposition leader.
KCR has indicated that the TRS and YSRCP would move as a block and also reviving talk of trying to bring regional parties together under his proposed Federal Front.
The BJP, on the other hand, has also been eyeing the two parties to boost NDA numbers, particularly if the mandate is not as decisive as many of the exit polls have forecasted.
Such a scenario, in all probability, makes the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana potential decisive factors in forming the government.
In keeping hopes of cooperation up, an Opposition leader said, “None of us believes the exit poll figures. Now that the polls are over, there is a great rapport between the parties. We understand the need to move fast. Part of that is to reach out to the Andhra-Telangana parties before the BJP does. The other part is to move fast after the results. Party leaders are constantly in touch and most of us will be back in Delhi on the evening of May 23. Staking claim swiftly will be the key.”
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