Political developments in the two Telugu States, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, were fast-paced on Thursday. In Andhra Pradesh, Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan announced that the TDP and Jana Sena will contest the next elections together in the state. Pawan made this announcement after meeting TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu in jail, along with Nara Lokesh and MLA N Balakrishna. The ruling YSRCP criticized the alliance, but it was welcomed by the rank and file of Jana Sena and the TDP. Pawan also mentioned that these two parties would form a coordination committee and take up joint agitations against the arrest of Naidu.
In another development, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and his wife received notices from the Delhi High Court regarding a government order stating that village volunteers and Secretariat should purchase a specific newspaper. The Supreme Court directed that the trial should be conducted in the Delhi High Court instead of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
In Telangana, BRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha was issued a notice by the ED in connection with the Delhi liquor scam. BJP national general secretary Bandi Sanjay criticized the arrest of TDP chief by the YSRCP government.
These developments are significant as they could indicate that the Centre will combine the Assembly elections of six states, including AP, with the Lok Sabha polls. Some people believe that the BJP indirectly supports the YSRCP and BRS for their support in the Rajya Sabha. Congress and Left party leaders allege that the BJP is using diversionary tactics but not seriously opposing these two parties. However, in Andhra Pradesh, BJP leaders believe that an alliance between TDP, BJP, and Jana Sena could become a reality.
