Mahagathbandhan forays: Naidu and Rahul photo-op could prove significant

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu presents a shawl to Congress President Rahul Gandhi during a meeting in New Delhi (PTI Photo)

Continuing his effort to be the new sutradhar of opposition unity, Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu met Congress president Rahul Gandhi yesterday. Facing the press jointly they underlined shared goals of defeating BJP plus protecting democracy and its institutions.

This is a big shift for TDP which has passionately declaimed that Congress is the villain of the piece for Andhra’s bifurcation. But its political calculations have undergone extensive revision since exiting NDA eight months ago. By taking an anti-BJP position on the national stage Naidu hopes to build stature in the state. He is looking at strong anti-incumbency. Battling it by taking cudgels against erstwhile ally BJP and hooking up with erstwhile opposition Congress is astute politics.

Over the past week, Naidu has also met Mayawati, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah and Arvind Kejriwal. Given the history of failed attempts to build a pan-India mahagathbandhan, it is possible that even this latest Naidu-Rahul meet will end up amounting to just another photo-op. On the other hand, both their parties have real skin in the game now, and good incentives for climbing the uphill slope of negotiating opposition unity against the NDA government. Unlike Rahul and Mamata Banerjee, Naidu has the combined experience and temperament to pull this off.

‘Coming together to save the nation’: Chandrababu Naidu, Rahul call for opposition unity