Before Lok Sabha Polls, Jagan Reddy, Chandrababu Naidu In BJP Huddles
NDTV
Chandrababu Naidu met Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP boss JP Nadda, while Jagan Mohan Reddy seemed to go one better, meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ahead of a Lok Sabha election in a few weeks and a simultaneous state poll, it seems a swayamvar on in Delhi as the ruling BJP decides on a match from Andhra Pradesh. Less than 24 hours after Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu met Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP boss JP Nadda, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy travelled to Delhi and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On the face of it, Mr Reddy is meeting the Prime Minister to discuss Special Category status for his state - a long-standing demand of his YSR Congress Party and the TDP - central funds and other issues. Analysts, however, say the meeting suggests the BJP is in its customary watch-and-wait mode, weighing its options before committing to either side (or remaining neutral) before the elections.
Most likely, any understanding between the BJP and either the YSRCP or the TDP (which is allied, in the state, with actor Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena, a member of the BJP-led national alliance) will be informal, which the regional parties may prefer since a formal tie-up risks them losing minority votes.
