Ever since the Telugu Desam Party snapped ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party in April last year, TDP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has been targeting the BJP in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular.

In the last few months, he has stepped up his attack on Modi and has even been ganging up with the other opposition parties in the country, including the Congress party, to float an anti-BJP front at the national level.

The reason is simple: the people of Andhra Pradesh are angry with the BJP for not granting special category status to the state and also not fulfilling the promises made in the bifurcation act. That is why Naidu took a U-turn and started raising these issues at his Dharma Porata Deeksha.

At the same time, he is desperately trying to create an impression among the people of the state that his rival Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has been hand in glove with the BJP and has been harping on the same at every meeting.

He is of the view that since the people do not like the BJP, they would not like the YSRC as well, because Jagan is going soft towards the saffron party.

However, the strategy might boomerang on Naidu after seeing the developments in the last couple of weeks.

The nation-wide anger over the terrorist attack on soldiers in Pulwama in Kashmir and the latest surgical strikes on Pakistan has definitely brought a lot of mileage to the BJP, which is gaining a lot of support from the urban youth and also educated sections.

So, the chances of Modi returning to power at the Centre for a second successive term have also become brighter now. This might bring some change in the thinking of the urban voters of Andhra Pradesh as well.

Though they might not vote for the BJP in the state, but the fact that Modi is going to return to power at the Centre will definitely have an impact on the electorate.

Since Naidu has taken an anti-Modi stand, the people might not vote for him for the simple reason that Modi, once returns to power at the Centre, will continue to take anti-Andhra Pradesh attitude because of Naidu.

It might not be the case if Jagan comes to power, since YSRC might end up making friendship with NDA.

So, there is every possibility that people might vote for Jagan for a better relationship with Modi government, rather than Naidu who is spreading hatred against Modi.

That way, the anti-Modi stand is going to backfire on Naidu!

Rumour mills in YSR Congress are working overtime to ensure that the word doesn’t get out that its Ongole leader is upset with YSRCP President Y.S Jaganmohan Reddy. Apparently, Jagan has clarified that Y.V. Subba Reddy who is an important leader in the party and a relative to YS family, will not get the Ongole Parliamentary seat.

Y.V Subba Reddy happens to be the husband of Y.S. Vijayamma’s own sister. Also, he played a crucial role during former Chief Minister Y.S Rajasekhar Reddy where he managed the party affairs well. In the 2014 elections, despite having another family member contest for Ongole Parliament seat, Jagan gave it to Y.V Subba Reddy despite his relative Balineni Srinivas Reddy also seeking the same ticket. However, Subba Reddy won while Srinivas Reddy lost.

However, as an MP, Subba Reddy has earned considerable goodwill among people as well as in the party with his work. Amidst this, there have been differences between Balineni and Subba Reddy while the latter was additionally given responsibility to chalk out party’s strategies in various districts by YSRCP Chief.

Additionally, after the entry of Daggubati and his son as well as Amanchi from TDP, there are rumours that TDP’s Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy also may join YSRCP. While Magunta has been making statements that he will stick to TDP, YSRCP cadre believes that his shift to the party can happen at any moment and is reportedly confirmed.

While the party cadre is gossiping that YV may be confined to looking after party affairs, Subba Reddy is determined that he will contest from Ongole Parliamentary seat again. With the rumours doing rounds about Magunta, he immediately held a press conference recently and declared that he will not only be contesting the upcoming elections from Ongole Parliamentary segment but also confirmed that he will do it in 2024 elections also.

This press conference has apparently upset YSRCP President who immediately called Subba Reddy to his residence. Subba Reddy who visited Jagan with his family members expressed his displeasure about Magunta’s entry. On the other hand, responding to Subba Reddy, Jagan reprimanded him and said that he shouldn’t have declared his candidature in a press conference and could have said that the Party High Command will decide and that he respects its decision as final.

Apparently, Jagan also pointed out that Subba Reddy made a mistake. This has caused deep disappointment in Subba Reddy who walked out of Jagan’s residence. Adding to this displeasure, Y.V’s hopes were dashed when Jagan told him that he will not be getting the requested seat. Upset with Jagan’s move, Y.V Subba Reddy did not attend Jagan’s house-warming ceremony nor was he present at the new party office inauguration.

Imran Khan’s statement to release Air Force Pilot Abhinandan Varthaman has come as a big surprise to many including Indian media, global media. Particularly, Pakistan has made the announcement with no conditions. This has really left many in shock as well as celebration in India.

But here is a speculation that is doing the rounds. As per inside buzz, Pakistan reportedly bowed down to mounting international pressure. As Pakistan has already been cornered globally over its inaction against terrorism on its soil, it is under immense pressure. Even Pakistan’s close aide China, which was expected to extend support to Pakistan, has not supported Pakistan and instead it has called for restraint of both India and Pakistan. China’s silence in the matter seems to have left Pakistan in deep shock and it must have understood that the country is being isolated globally.

Meanwhile, it is buzzed that Saudi Arabia and United States also said to have mounted their pressure on Pakistan to release the Air Force Pilot Abhinandan who was found captive of. Even during Kerala Flood, Saudi has come forward for a great help to India which was later gently turned down by India. Given India’s powerful friends and its global relations, Pakistan seems to have changed its mind and it started positioning itself as “anti-Terror” nation.

Whatever may be the reasons, releasing of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman is a big relief and a happy moment for all Indians.

The BJP High Command is readying the ground for Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to contest polls from Karnataka. The BJP, which has a good stronghold in Karnataka in the South, believes that instead of nominating her for the Rajya Sabha, she could actually contest polls in the upcoming General Elections.

Apparently, this idea cropped up soon after the situation in the country changed following India-Pakistan tensions and how India has been receiving support and good from its people as well as the international community. The BJP leadership believes that this will benefit the party in the upcoming elections and help Nirmala win in case she contests.

As the Defence Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman has gained wide appreciation for being second only to Indira Gandhi in such a key and powerful position in India. Given that she is an MP from Karnataka now, the BJP is exploring options to make her contest from Bangalore.

The BJP High Command is mulling over giving Ananth Kumar Hegde’s (the leader who passed away late last year) seat to Nirmala Sitharaman. The Bengaluru South Parliamentary seat which was contested by Hegde, on the other hand, could be taken up by his wife Tejaswini, say BJP sources. In such as a case, there are chances that BJP High Command could look for another Parliamentary seat for Nirmala to contest.

While Tamilnadu, Nirmala’s home state, also came up for discussion among BJP leaders, it is believed that she doesn’t enjoy popularity and could be difficult for her to contest from the seat. All in all, looks like our Defence Minister will finally contesting for Lok Sabha if the BJP sources are to be believed.

Islamabad: The captured Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot will be freed on Friday “as a peace gesture”, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Thursday.

Addressing a joint session of the National Assembly, Khan said the India-Pakistan situation should not “get out of hand” otherwise “Pakistan will have to retaliate”, the Dawn reported.

“Countries are ruined because of miscalculation,” said Khan. Alleging “war hysteria” in India, he said: “I’m afraid there might be a miscalculation.

“War is not a solution. If India takes any action, we will have to retaliate.”

The joint session of Parliament was called to discuss the rising tensions with India.

“The only purpose of our strike (on India on Wednesday) was to demonstrate our capability and will,” said the Prime Minister. “We did not want to inflict any casualty on India as we wanted to act in a responsible manner.”

He said he tried to call Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the telephone on Wednesday because “escalation is not in our interests nor in India’s”.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of the IAF was captured by Pakistanis on Wednesday after his MiG was shot down and fell in Pakistani territory during a dogfight.