Hyderabad: Ruling party circles in both Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh are happy with the Delhi Assembly results for a simple reason.
Leaders of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in TS and the YSR Congress (YSRC) in AP feel with defeats in one state after another, the Bharatiya Janata Party will have to depend on regional parties in the coming days. Such an eventuality will be much more in the south, where, except in Karnataka, the BJP is in a very weak position to win seats on its own. It will be very difficult for the saffron party to occupy even the second place in most constituencies of the Telugu states, because the TRS and YSRC are in a very strong position.
The main Opposition in Telangana state is the Congress, while in AP it is the Telugu Desam. Both the parties are facing difficulties. The BJP will thus have to depend, directly or indirectly, on TRS in Telangana and on YSRC in Andhra Pradesh. AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is maintaining good relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.
Comparatively, however, TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has certain differences with the BJP after he became the CM for the second time.
The common point within TRS and YSRC is that both are against Congress. While the BJP is strong in northern India, it is not the case when it comes to south. Even in the north, BJP has lost power in some states and has been unable to defeat ruling parties in other states. In the next eight months, West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu are scheduled to go for assembly elections. BJP has no chance of coming to power on its own in these three states. By the next Lok Sabha elections, BJP will complete its 10 years in power at the centre and it will face the anti-incumbency factor. In both Telugu states, there are 42 Lok Sabha seats. As per the prevailing political situation, TRS and YSRC are likely to win majority of the LS seats. Thus, if BJP or NDA do not get majority on their own to form the government, TRS and YSRC will play a crucial role. In Telangana, if TRS gets defeated, the beneficiary will be Congress. In AP, if YSRC is defeated, the beneficiary is Telugu Desam.
The Congress will not support BJP and it has no confidence in TD chief N. Chandrababu Naidu going by past history. When BJP has no chances of winning majorly in the two Telugu states, naturally, it would want to
ally with TRS in Telangana and YSRC in AP. TRS and YSRC leaders hope that keeping all these issues in mind, the central government headed by BJP may change its attitude towards the two states. Both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are thus expecting to benefit from central largesse, including resolving of several pending issues, apart from financial assistance.
