News Analysis | Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest: A knee-jerk reaction or a planned strategy?
The Hindu
The sudden arrest of TDP national president Chandrababu Naidu appears to have set the stage for a showdown between the TDP and ruling party YSR Congress, for the General and Assembly elections in 2024.
The sudden arrest of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president and former Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu from his camping site at Nandyal, by the officials of Andhra Pradesh CID, appears to have set the stage for a showdown between the TDP and ruling party YSR Congress, for the General and Assembly elections in 2024.
While some political pundits term it as a knee-jerk reaction from the ruling party, others say that it was a planned strategy of YSR Congress and Mr. Naidu has seen it coming his way.
Chandrababu Naidu arrest live updates
Mr. Naidu has been setting the tone for his arrest, by publicly speaking at all public meetings that he might by arrested any day, and that the State government was conspiring with the police for doing it, and even had gone to the extent of saying that his life and his son’s life (Nara Lokesh), were under threat. He had gone to the extent of conveying the same to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a couple of times, when he met him in the recent times.
A number of political analysts say that the arrest of the leader of the main Opposition party unceremoniously, was a hasty reaction from the ruling party and it may be counter-productive, as Mr. Naidu will certainly use it as a platform for gaining sympathy votes.
It is felt that Mr. Naidu was gaining traction, as his recent bus tour and his campaign ‘Babu Surety - Bhavishyathu Ki Guarantee’ programme was largely being termed as a success, including in Chief Minister’s stronghold pockets in Rayalaseema region and so was Nara Lokesh’s ‘Yuva Galam’ 4000-km long Statewide padayatra.
TDP winning four MLC seats in the recent elections and winning in about 10 seats out of 32 in the local body elections are said to be indicators of Mr. Naidu’s upward trend. More so, the talks of him getting closer to the BJP top bosses and undeclared alliance with Jana Sena Party, could be the reason for the ruling party to arrest the course.
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