Predictions of a stormy Monsoon Session of Parliament and the imperative for the Central government to clear the Government of National Capital of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, are being cited as reasons for the BJP underplaying the significance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s meeting with Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader N. Chandrababu Naidu.
The two leaders, Mr. Shah and Mr. Naidu, met in New Delhi last weekend and while it has been tacitly acknowledged by both parties that an alliance between BJP and TDP has been agreed upon for the two Telugu speaking States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, no official confirmation is forthcoming.
This, according to the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh and fierce rivals of the TDP, is largely to continue receiving unstinting support in Parliament from the YSRCP for any contentious legislation that the Centre needs to get cleared. “The Union government has already reached out to us soliciting parliamentary support for the passage of the Delhi Ordinance during the Monsoon Session,” said a senior source in the YSRCP. The party says it will be supporting the passage of the Ordinance.
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More pertinently, while the BJP-TDP alliance may be seen in action in the Telangana Assembly election, the Andhra Pradesh tie-up may be announced much later. “This lag could be because of the work going on with regard to introducing the Uniform Civil Code [UCC] during the Winter Session later,” added the source from the YSRCP, who says that the government appears serious with regard to the UCC.
The BJP and its allies have more than adequate numbers in the Lok Sabha, but it’s a different story in the Rajya Sabha. In the Upper House, the government is precarious in terms of numbers and routinely depends on the YSRCP (nine MPs) and the Biju Janata Dal (nine MPs), plus nominated and independent members to clear legislation.
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A senior YSRCP leader said that the party will, in any case, fight election in Andhra Pradesh on the back of its welfare programmes, like the YSR Yantra Seva Patahkam (distribution of tractors and combine harvesters), YSR Rythu Bharosa or farmers income support scheme, free housing for the poor, and Jagananna Vidya Deevena, a programme of total fee reimbursement to indigent students.
