"Poor" Naidu miffed with "rich" Modi, asks where are my acche din
Chandrababu Naidu is angry. He feels let down, pushed to the wall by a government in which he also is a stakeholder at Raisina Hill. Already struggling with an empty wallet, Naidu was looking to Union finance minister Arun Jaitley filling Andhra Pradesh's coffers to an extent in the Union Budget. It wasn't to be. And Naidu took to Twitter and a media appearance on Saturday to let Modi sarkar know his frustration that "acche din" are nowhere on Andhra's horizon.
Naidu accused the Centre of not addressing Andhra's demand for special status. There has been considerable resistance to bestowing special status to Andhra Pradesh, since there are many states far more bimaru. But what Naidu is pointing to is the promise made by the previous UPA government during the bifurcation, a process the BJP had supported.
"The Centre is hoping that Andhra Pradesh will flourish without any funds. How is that even possible?” asks Naidu. Citing Polavaram multipurpose project as an example, Naidu says only 100 crore rupees have been sanctioned for this national project. "We lack a capital. We have continuously raised the demand for funds for a new capital city. We feel let down as this too has been ignored,” the chief minister's twitter handle tweeted.
Union minister Venkaiah Naidu however, rubbished Chandrababu's charge, saying the state has been well provided for. And that if there are concerns, the CM can petition the PM and Jaitley for redressal. Such a sarkari reply wasn't expected from this "government with a difference". Especially when the hurt of bifurcation and the losses suffered isn't exactly a thing of the past among the people of Andhra Pradesh.
The Telugu Desam supremo is not a politician to react more than necessary and by his standards, this post-budget outburst was indeed a strong message. He had already given a trailer of what might come, earlier in the week, while reacting to what he thought were "meagre” provisions by the 14th finance commission for his state. Which is why one can be reasonably sure that these statements and counter statements are not to be taken at face value and there is more than what meets the eye.
But Naidu is too canny and experienced a politician not to understand the politics behind this cold shoulder. Modi knows Naidu is on the back foot, he can make a noise but his political options are limited. If he takes on the Centre, his few hopes of getting funds too can evaporate. Given that Naidu's hopes of another term in 2019 hinge on a good report card in office, an unfriendly Centre can deflate the TDP's chances.
But Naidu cannot think the people will buy into his huffing and panting and yet not being able to get anything out of Modi. Because the argument goes that why are Naidu's two ministers - Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Sujana Choudhary - unable to represent Andhra's case forcefully.
The TDP camp now wants to mount reasonable pressure in instalments. The first salvo has been fired. It resulted in actor Pawan Kalyan rushing to Naidu's home in Hyderabad, reportedly with a message from the powers-that-be. The second step will be meetings with the two men who matter in Delhi. Naidu could also insist on the NDA partners having a say in decisions made by the government of India through some kind of a coordination committee but it is doubtful if Modi will agree. A threat also being spoken of is that Naidu could withdraw his two ministers in the Modi government and revert to the kind of arrangement he had with the NDA under AB Vajpayee till 2004. Give outside support so that the taint of sharing power without getting anything for the people does not fall on Naidu. That, the TDP, believes will hurt Modi's image as a leader.
But this at best will be cosmetic distancing. Naidu also knows fissures in the TDP-BJP relationship will be sought to be exploited both by Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra and K Chandrasekhar Rao in Telangana, both of who will seek to woo the saffron party. So Naidu will go the distance only after exhausting all options. At the moment, the Centre continues to insist it will implement all promises made in the Act. Cynics within the TDP look at this as merely an act.
The BJP also knows Andhra is one state that will want to do well in 2019. The thinking therefore is why let Naidu walk away with the credit. So an argument is to deliver the goodies after Naidu has exited so that the BJP and Modi can claim credit. The BJP is already working on building a Kapu-Reddy caste combination as an electoral option to the Kamma-dominated TDP and Jagan's YSR Congress for 2019. The hiccup is finding a tall leader with a pan-Andhra appeal to lead it.
Pawan Kalyan is one option Modi will be interested in. But the actor with a huge fan following is an unpredictable personality, whose leadership skills haven't yet been tested in active politics. But one gets the feeling that work on writing the script has begun. The first cut should be out soon.