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Media baron Ramoji Rao seems to be back in action. According to highly placed sources, Ramoji Rao is brokering the deal between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam for an alliance.
Sources said Ramoji Rao is taking initiative in arranging a meeting between BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu at Ramoji Film City secretly. This might happen tonight or tomorrow.
Ramoji, a good friend of BJP prime ministerial candidate L K Advani, played a key role in the TDP joining the NDA in 1998. This time, too, he is doing the same. After all, he is desperate to see that the Congress does not come to power in the state and the UPA at the Centre. Otherwise, his empire is facing the threat of collapse.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhara Rao seem to have become highhanded in his behaviour, eversince the BJP leaders started giving him a lot of importance and projecting a larger than life size image of himself.
Reacting to the media criticism on his decision to join the NDA, the TRS president arrogantly said there was no need to give any explanation to the media. “I have done what I feel is right. In 2004, we supported the Congress and this time, we believe that the NDA will grant Telangana. That’s it. What is wrong in it?” he asked. He prophesied that the NDA would get not less than 225 Lok Sabha seats this time and would form the government. “Political equations are fast changing at the national level. The so-called Third Front has no shape at all so far. It is certain that the NDA would form the government at the centre,” he said.
Even as Telugu Desam leader is expressing confidence that the Third Front would form the next government at the Centre, Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister K Rosaiah advises Naidu to join the NDA to safeguard his political future.
“There is no point in talking about the Third Front or Fourth Front. Instead of making such futile attempts, it is better Naidu join the NDA. At least then, he can secure his political future,” he said. Good advice, Mr Rosaiah. But Naidu has his own plans. He plays his cards close to his chest and doesn’t disclose his plans so easily.
Yet, Naidu will definitely keep Rosaiah suggestion in mind.
Has Bharatiya Janata Party national leader M Venkaiah Naidu been designated as chief negotiator of the party to woo Telugu Desam party into the NDA fold?
There was a talk in the morning that Venkaiah came to Hyderabad on Tuesday only to meet Chandrababu Naidu and discuss the issue of the TDP joining the NDA. But the meeting did not take place till evening.
When media persons asked him the same, Venkaiah did not either confirm or deny the same. “I don’t want to name any party or person at this stage. But many parties are willing to join the NDA. However, any negotiations with any party would be done only after the declaration of election results on May 16,” he said.
To a question, he said the BJP would negotiate with any party, which would accept L K Advani as the Prime Minister and support the NDA government led by him.
There is a wide discussion going on in the political circles as to whether Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhara Rao’s decision to support the National Democratic Alliance will help the Telangana cause or not.
According to one argument, KCR’s strategy will work, only if the NDA comes to power at the Centre. And it will help KCR realise his goal of achieving separate Telangana.
But what happens if the NDA does not come to power? Then TRS would end up nowhere. It cannot come back to the Third Front, because the Left parties would kick it out. If KCR wants to go back to the Congress-led UPA, too, there would not be any takers. Moroever, KCR will have to do so at the cost of Telangana, since the UPA will anyway not give the Telangana state. So, it has to remain an untouchable.
People are arguing that KCR should have he should have waited till the election results before choosing the NDA or Third Front.
