Also, Andhra politics is different. For the record, Andhra Pradesh did not have any of its homegrown political parties at the opposition parties’ Patna Conclave. The Congress has a state unit and so does the BJP and right now, Andhra Pradesh is witnessing hectic politicking over alignments and realignments for the assembly and general elections, both of which are slated to happen in 2024.

Yes, it is kind of a mishmash of political parties, not yet fully discernable in as far as alignments go. That said, something interesting happening is the role of YS Sharmila, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s sister, who has her own political outfit, the YSR Telangana Party. How many siblings have their own political parties to play politics with? Well, these two have, except that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and YS Sharmila take dynastic politics to another different level.

Now, the Congress is mulling partnering with YS Sharmila’s YSRTP in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Even a merger, except that the Telangana Congress unit cannot stomach YSRTP. YS Sharmila is now saying that her love for Telangana beats her fondness for Andhra Pradesh. Veteran Congress leader Renuka Chaudhary is against a tie-up with Sharmila’s party.

The overall estimate is, a merger of YSRTP with the Congress is unlikely even if it will help the Congress electorally. The feeling is that a tie-up in Andhra Pradesh is okay, but not in Telangana. Renuka Chaudhary is wary of the feisty Sharmila purely because Sharmila might steal a march from her. Senior Congress leader V. Hanumanth Rao says Sharmila’s image will help the Congress in Andhra Pradesh.

Fact is, YS Sharmila is a polarizing figure. Congress leaders think she will be one more unnecessary power centre within the Congress. Sharmila’s legacy of being the daughter of late Congress Chief Minister, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, has both advantages and disadvantages. The last word on a merger has been left to the Congress high command.

How much of an impact a YSRTP-Congress merger will have on the prospects of Jagan Reddy’s YSRCP is best left to the imagination. The YSRCP might not ally with the BJP or, for that matter, with the Congress. In 2019, the YSRCP went solo and bagged 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats. Since then, the YSRCP has been a BJP ally in Parliament, voting with the saffron party on certain bills.

The BJP also has an ally in actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP). But Kalyan wants the TDP also on board. Recently, TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu had met Home Minister Amit Shah. The TDP wants to be a BJP ally, just like the JD(S) in Karnataka. The TDP wants to get rid of the YSRCP government. A TDP-JSP-BJP alliance could be on the cards.

If that happens, it will be a three-cornered fight. The Congress will be the third major player. In 2019, there was no alliance for the BJP. And YSRCP with 50 percent vote-share won 22 of the 25 seats. The TDP garnered 39 percent vote-share. The JSP got a little more than 5 percent and the BJP mustered less than one percent.

This time (2024) too, the BJP will not be able to score without an alliance. A zero-BJP showing will, however, not be because of the opposition parties’ coming together. The opposition conclaves will not cut ice in AP. That is because except for the Congress, none of the opposition parties at play in Andhra Pradesh are part of Nitish Kumar’s initiative.

The BJP has not yet decided which party to ally with. The difficulty for the BJP is allying with TDP will lead to estrangement with YSRCP and a partnership with YSRCP will alienate the TDP. As of now, the TDP is the more driven party with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party also rooting for a BJP-TDP-JSP alliance. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi back in India after his US-Egypt tour, a decision could be on the cards. With the Opposition conclaves set to make headlines, the Bharatiya Janata Party can do with a couple of its own earth-shaking breaking news! (IPA Service)