One party that is looking closely at the south India politico-religious tour by K Chandrasekhar Rao is the Telugu Desam. Chandrababu Naidu is aware that KCR’s attempt is to market the TRS and the YSRCP as a package deal and forge a federal front, keeping the TDP out. 

After meeting Left strongman and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday, KCR is expected to meet MK Stalin on 13 May and has been in touch with HD Kumaraswamy as well. These leaders have been on Naidu’s radar as well ever since he quit the NDA last year.

(In a late afternoon development, the Stalin-KCR meeting may not happen, leading some to suspect if the DMK that has backed Rahul Gandhi for PM, does not want to send conflicting signals by meeting KCR. Also some suspect someone has been working the phones. For the record, the DMK says there are some scheduling issues as Stalin is away campaigning in the four constituencies that will vote on 19 May)

“We are not insecure,” says a senior TDP leader, known to be close to Naidu. “KCR is attempting but many of the regional leaders are not serious about him. All of them are with us.”

But would Naidu be okay if KCR is also part of the Third Front, I ask.

“No, we do not want KCR to be part of the group,” he replies. Not surprising considering the Telangana assembly election campaign in 2018 and the run-up to the Andhra election saw KCR and Naidu spit fire at each other. 

In any case, Naidu has openly embraced the Congress nationally while KCR is trying to cut the party to size in Telangana. Naidu’s national arrangement includes Rahul Gandhi while KCR wants to keep the Congress out of the picture. 

TRS leaders retort that Naidu will be relevant only till 22 May and predict that poor results in Andhra Pradesh will diminish his stature in national politics. The argument is that a regional satrap has to have full control over his backyard in order to leapfrog to play a dominant role in national politics. Having won a second consecutive term with a bigger majority and expecting to win at least 15/17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana along with the MIM, KCR’s party sees its leader as ideally positioned to play the role of the architect of the next government.

Not true, says the TDP. “Both KCR and Naveen Patnaik are waiting and watching. If it seems that the NDA is in a position to form the government and needs numbers, they will jump into its ship. Or else, they will be with the regional parties,” the party claims.