RAJAHMUNDRY
The arrest and judicial remand of 73-year-old former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the Rajahmundry Central Prison (RCP) for his alleged involvement in the AP Skill Development scam could not stop him from executing his decisive strategy to form an alliance with the Jana Sena Party led by his old friend K. Pawan Kalyan.
It’s been more than 72 hours since he has been shifted to the prison, and his legal battle did not bring him any sign of relief so far.
However, he seems to have made the most of the ‘mulaqat’ facility available at the jail. An individual is entitled to get two sessions of mulaqat, through which one can interact with family members and others only twice a week.
By September 14, Mr. Naidu was left with only one mulaqat and he meticulously used it to cement the TDP’s ties with the Jana Sena Party (JSP) by inviting Mr. Pawan Kalyan for the meeting on Thursday.
The 45-minute interaction has put an end to the speculations on the alliance between the TDP and the JSP as the two party heads agreed to an oral pact to fight the 2024 Assembly elections together.
The aim is to ‘Save Democracy in Andhra Pradesh’, it is said. For the same reason, it is also said, Mr. Naidu had met Mr. Kalyan in Hyderabad in January 2023, after the latter was stopped from conducting a public meeting in Visakhapatnam.
The announcement of the tie-up was made by Mr. Pawan Kalyan outside the prison, within a few minutes after emerging from the meeting with Mr. Naidu.
‘Big brother’
Mr. Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh, who had been fighting a lone battle to free his father from imprisonment, appears to have gained strength after Mr. Pawan Kalyan extended a helping hand.
“For me, Mr. Pawan Kalyan is like a big brother,” Mr. Lokesh told The Hindu.
Mr. Pawan Kalyan held talks with the family members of Mr. Naidu and left Rajamahendravaram with an assurance to play the role of ‘big brother’ in their fight ahead.
The focus of all the political parties, including the ruling YSR Congress Party, has now shifted to the future political course of the TDP-Jana Sena alliance, and Ministers have already launched a scathing attack on the alliance and its survival.
