The fireworks in the sky that the YSRCP cadre lit in many towns of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday evening said it all. The jubilation in the YSRCP camp over the judicial remand of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu was evident and a pointer to the hate-hate relationship that exists between the two parties.
that Naidu got on admission to Rajahmundry central prison was not just another number. To the supporters of YCP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has always been mocked by the TDP for having spent nearly 16 months in Hyderabad central prison in 2012-13 in a disproportionate assets case, this was a tit-for-tat moment they had been waiting for long.
The former chief minister’s 6 am arrest by the CID on September 9 was reminiscent of M Karunanidhi’s 1:45 am arrest in Chennai in 2001 when his rival J Jayalalithaa was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Just like the DMK and AIADMK in the neighbouring state at that time, the TDP and YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh are not just political foes. The rivalry borders on intense hate.
That is why the TDP believes Jagan has moved in for the kill just months before the elections are due in Andhra Pradesh to push his rival to a corner.
“This is just the beginning of exposing Naidu for his mistakes, not the ending,” said Andhra Pradesh tourism minister Roja, with firecrackers bursting against the backdrop. Roja incidentally was with the TDP for a decade before shifting to the YSRCP.
Making matters difficult is the CID, which has declared its intent to question Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh in a different case. Lokesh was the IT minister during the TDP rule between 2014 and 2019.
The timing of the arrest from the YSRCP point of view was just right. It was done on a Saturday when Jagan was out of the country in London. The entire national leadership of the BJP was busy with the G20 in New Delhi and so was not available to respond to any SOS from Vijayawada.
The national media was focused on the Bharat Mandapam and hence all the reportage was largely restricted to the vernacular media. The fact that Naidu was sent to jail on his wedding anniversary on Sunday added a vicious edge to the move.