The statement made by Bharatiya Janata Party national secretary and in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Sunil Deodhar that as many as 18 Telugu Desam Party MLAs were in touch with the BJP central leadership and might join the party sooner or later, has created ripples in political circles.
If what Deodhar said is true, only five MLAs will be left with the TDP, apart from party president N Chandrababu Naidu and his brother-in-law Nandamuri Balakrishna are: Payyavula Kesav, K Atchen Naidu and Gorantla Buchaiah Chowdary.
All the others, including former home minister N Chinna Rajappa and higher education minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, would make a beeline to the BJP.
One wonders whether one could take the statement of Deodhar in its face value. It is true that several TDP MLAs are a disgruntled lot because they are not able to digest being out of power.
Secondly, they are also not certain whether Naidu will have patience and energy to fight back against YSR Congress government led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in 2024, by which time he will be 74 years old, while his son Nara Lokesh lacks the skills to lead the party to victory.
Thirdly, they are not sure given a strong opposition both in the Centre and the state, the party would be in a position to be financially strong enough to fight the next elections.
But at the same time, one wonders whether the BJP has the potential to emerge as an alternative force in the state, let alone coming to power replacing YSRC in 2024.
It does not have enough cadre base in AP and it cannot bank on the defected leaders, as they would lose their credibility in the people the moment they jump into the saffron party.
And more importantly, the people of Andhra have no faith in the BJP, which has not only played a major role in dividing the combined state, but also denied special category status to the state.
So, it only appears to be a mind game of the BJP to demoralise the TDP!
