Telugu Desam Party, Jana Sena gearing up for battle against YSR Congress party 

TDP State president K. Atchannaidu. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena Party (JSP) are gearing up to intensify their fight against Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress by setting up a joint action/coordination committee soon. 

While the TDP leaders are trying to get their act together in the wake of N. Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest in the skill development scam case, JSP president Pawan Kalyan is getting ready to begin the fourth leg of his Varahi Yatra on October 1. 

This time, he will be touring Avanigadda, Kaikalur, Machilipatnam and Pedana constituencies in the undivided Krishna district. 

TDP State party president K. Atchannaidu said a couple of days ago that a Joint Action Committee (JAC) will be soon formed with the JSP to chart their future course of action against the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. 

The TDP’s top priority at the moment is to obtain bail for Chandrababu Naidu, who has been lodged in Rajamahendravaram central prison since September 11.

With no respite in sight for Mr. Naidu in courts, the TDP is desperately looking for ways to salvage the situation for him and the party.

Another thing of serious concern for the TDP is the imminent arrest of its national general secretary Nara Lokesh in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road alignment case. 

Mr. Lokesh has just announced that he will be resuming his Yuva Galam Padayatra from Razole in Konaseema district on September 29. He suspended it on September 9 when Mr. Chandrababu Naidu was arrested at Nandyal. 

It remains to be seen whether Mr. Lokesh will proceed with his Padayatra as the CID has clearly set the stage for his arrest by ‘adding’ him as A-14 in the IRR alignment case and filing a memo to that effect in the Vijayawada ACB Court.

On the other hand, Mr. Kalyan, whose decision to forge an alliance with the TDP caught everyone by surprise due to its timing (immediately after meeting Mr. Chandrababu Naidu in the jail) two weeks ago in the presence of Mr. Lokesh and Nandamuri Balakrishna, is yet to take a significant step forward. 

As far as the issues are concerned, the TDP-JSP combine will harp on the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls, government’s failures and land, sand and liquor mafia etc.

For now, the BJP is out of the picture as its Central leadership has not yet decided whether to go with the TDP and the JSP or wage a lone battle in the 2024 elections.