The TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and CM of Andhra Pradesh met NCP president Sharad Pawar and NC chairman Farooq Abdullah in Delhi with the offer to call a meeting of all non-BJP leaders to “save democracy, save country”.
“The situation in the ED, the CBI, and the RBI is deteriorating. There is an assault on institutions,” Pawar told reporters after meeting Naidu in Delhi.
“Save democracy, save country is the need of the hour. Chandrababu Naidu will speak to all leaders and call a meeting,” said Pawar.
Chandrababu Naidu is to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi later in the day.
The TDP and the Congress have already put aside their rivalry for the Telangana Assembly elections to defeat K Chandrashekar Rao’s TRS, and could do the same for the Lok Sabha elections next year, sources said.
Earlier, in an official statement, the TDP hinted at “the likelihood of a key announcement with regards to the emerging political equations”.
This is Naidu’s second visit to the capital within a week, as he seeks to position himself as a leader who could fashion the anti-NDA alliance ahead of the 2019 general elections. On Saturday, he had met Mayawati, Arvind Kejriwal and Sharad Yadav.
He had already made a place for himself in coalition politics on the national stage two decades ago as he twice was the convenor of the grand opposition alliance – in 1995 and in 1998.
Since the TDP broke away from the NDA earlier this year over the Centre’s refusal to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh, Naidu has lost no opportunity to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.
With the constant attacks, political analysts say, Naidu hopes to amplify his opposition to Modi which would not only help him on the national stage, but also within Andhra Pradesh, which would also go to polls next year.
Simultaneously, he has hinted he has no problem with being a part of a national alliance with the Congress, saying there could not be one without there being one national party in the mix. The stance has surprised observers as the Congress was seen as the villain behind the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
