Did Naidu lose his MPs, or did he send them?

The joining of four Telugu Desam Rajya Sabha members in BJP is no doubt a big blow to a seasoned politician like Nara Chandrababu Naidu with more than four decades of experience. But the timing of the jump of the MPs that too when their leader was away in a faraway land also gave scope for speculation that Naidu knew about the move.

The political circles are abuzz with reports that all the four MPs that joined BJP on Thursday were under the scanner of federal agencies for different financial irregularities. “Is BJP a shelter zone for people like Sujana Chowdary and CM Ramesh or Naidu played an intelligent game by saving his key men from action by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate which are now directly under Amit Shah,” pointed out Prof Nageswar Rao a political analyst from Hyderabad.

While Naidu was clearly told by the BJP before the elections that the doors were permanently closed for the reginal party after his frequent entry and exit from the NDA. “We believe that Naidu made entry into the BJP from the back door by send his key men into that party very well knowing that he is a big no in that party,” YSRCP Vijayawada MLA Malladi Vishnu pointed out.

YSRCP also knows that the BJP might target Andhra Pradesh by taking the place of BJP and is also worried about the developments. “BJP was successful in changing voters’ perceptions in West Bengal and one day might replace TMC. The same could be possible in AP if BJP takes the role of opposition to YSRCP,” TDP senior leader Jupudi Prabhakar said cautioning the ruling party in AP.

However, the state BJP has said that the joining of MPs has nothing to do with their plans for expansion in AP. “The MPs joined as they felt that development of AP is possible with BJP,” BJP state president Kanna Lakshmi Narayana.