With the Bharatiya Janata Party winning a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi is now faced with a problem of plenty as support is coming even from parties outside the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, chief of the YSR Congress and archrival of the Telugu Desam Party, an electoral ally of the BJP, met Mr. Modi here on Friday and offered conditional backing. His party has nine members in the new Lok Sabha.
Though the BJP does not need any additional support in the lower House, it is woefully short of a majority in the Rajya Sabha. So, this is where support from other parties matter.
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Conscious of this reality, Mr. Modi has been reaching out to even those who have not approached him. For instance, both he and BJP president Rajnath Singh called up Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha to congratulate her on the spectacular performance of the AIADMK.
Though Mr. Reddy went armed with a memorandum listing things that needed to be done in the new State comprising Seemandhra regions which will come into being on June 2, his meeting with Mr. Modi was essentially political.
Fighting multiple cases on financial irregularities, violation of laws and disproportionate wealth, Mr. Reddy has reason to be worried. A recent Facebook post of Telugu Desam Party says: “It is beyond doubt that he [Mr. Reddy] is going back to jail in 45 days.” On Sunday, Mr. Naidu said, “The law must take its own course ... I don’t have a grudge against anybody.”
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Emerging from his meeting with Mr. Modi, Mr. Reddy said he had offered “issue-based support” to Mr. Modi, though “he doesn’t need it.” He complained that the UPA government forced the “most unjust division” of Andhra Pradesh.Reminding Mr. Modi of the BJP’s assurance in Parliament to extend special status to the new State for 10 years, he urged him to issue orders without delay.