Is Chandrababu planning a tie-up with Cong to check Jaganmohan?

Andhra Pradesh politics was heating up with the speculations of a strategic understanding between the ruling Telugu Desam Party and Congress party ahead of the next elections to tackle the challenge from the main opposition YSR Congress party.

While several Ministers of the Naidu Government have come out to deny any such plans, a senior leader of YSRCP said that Naidu was trying to reach an understanding with the Congress party as he was afraid of defeat at the hands of YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

The recent momentum in Congress party recovering some of its lost ground in the state was being attributed to the indirect support from Chandrababu Naidu. Since the appointment of Oomen Chandy as party general secretary in charge of AP affairs and his visit to the districts has put a new life in the party rank and file. The party leaders were also elated by the findings of recent survey by the Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) and Lokniti which suggested that Congress was regaining its strength and it may get 17% votes in the next elections compared to less 3% votes in 2014.The survey said that the Congress support among the upper castes and Kapus was rising.

While officially the Congress has not committed itself to any alliance or understanding with the TDP, party sources say they were not averse to such idea to check YSRCP which was likely to join NDA after elections.

However the speculations of a tie up have evoked a negative reaction from the TDP leaders. Deputy Chief Minister K E Krishnamurthy and another minister Ayyanna Patrudu have ruled out such a possibility. “Congress, BJP, YSRCP and Jana Sena all are the opponents of the TDP. We can not have any understanding with any of them”, Krishnamurthy told the media in Kurnool on Thursday.