Joint event on Oct 2: Will Chandrababu Naidu accept Narendra Modi's 'friend request'?
Edited by Surabhi Malik | Updated: September 25, 2013 14:41 IST
New Delhi: Narendra Modi and Chandrababu Naidu could share the dais at what is being called a "non-political" function in Delhi on October 2, Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary. It is being seen as an indication that Mr Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party has overcome his reservation of many years to being seen on the same side as the Gujarat Chief Minister.
Will the TDP and the BJP be partners again after almost 10 years?
In Facebook parlance, the BJP has sent a friend request to Chandrababu Naidu and he could well accept it given his current political situation in Andhra Pradesh.
TDP sources say that the former chief minister calculates that gains from an alliance with the Narendra Modi-led BJP will more than offset the hit he is likely to take in his vote base for aligning himself with a man seen by many as a right-wing Hindutva mascot.
As he does his arithmetic, Mr Naidu has to factor in a likely tie-up between the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS in the Telangana region and the growing clout of the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress in the Seemandhra region - as the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions are collectively called.
The Andhra BJP is reportedly not thrilled with the prospect of an alliance with Mr Naidu, who has been in political oblivion for almost a decade now.
But it is important for Mr Modi to establish that he can bring new allies into the National Democratic Alliance fold to balance the loss of key partner Janata Dal United on his account. Nitish Kumar's JD(U) dumped the BJP in June this year because the party appointed Mr Modi its campaign chief. (Over and Done. Nitish Kumar's JD(U) splits with BJP)
Chandrababu Naidu met BJP president Rajnath Singh last weekend and said, "I am not ruling out anything." In 1999, when a pro- BJP wave was witnessed post the Kargil war, Mr Naidu benefited from a tie-up with the national party.
Once the convenor of the NDA, Mr Naidu quit the alliance after the 2004 general elections, effectively blaming the 2002 Gujarat riots for his party's dismal performance.
Political rivals accuse the Gujarat Chief Minister of being a divisive leader who failed to prevent the 2002 communal riots in his state, which killed hundreds of Muslims under his watch.
Will the TDP and the BJP be partners again after almost 10 years?
In Facebook parlance, the BJP has sent a friend request to Chandrababu Naidu and he could well accept it given his current political situation in Andhra Pradesh.
As he does his arithmetic, Mr Naidu has to factor in a likely tie-up between the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS in the Telangana region and the growing clout of the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress in the Seemandhra region - as the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions are collectively called.
The Andhra BJP is reportedly not thrilled with the prospect of an alliance with Mr Naidu, who has been in political oblivion for almost a decade now.
But it is important for Mr Modi to establish that he can bring new allies into the National Democratic Alliance fold to balance the loss of key partner Janata Dal United on his account. Nitish Kumar's JD(U) dumped the BJP in June this year because the party appointed Mr Modi its campaign chief. (Over and Done. Nitish Kumar's JD(U) splits with BJP)
Chandrababu Naidu met BJP president Rajnath Singh last weekend and said, "I am not ruling out anything." In 1999, when a pro- BJP wave was witnessed post the Kargil war, Mr Naidu benefited from a tie-up with the national party.
Once the convenor of the NDA, Mr Naidu quit the alliance after the 2004 general elections, effectively blaming the 2002 Gujarat riots for his party's dismal performance.
Political rivals accuse the Gujarat Chief Minister of being a divisive leader who failed to prevent the 2002 communal riots in his state, which killed hundreds of Muslims under his watch.
Modi, Naidu to share stage at youth event in Delhi on October 2
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times New Delhi, September 25, 2013
First Published: 19:41 IST(25/9/2013) | Last Updated: 22:02 IST(25/9/2013)
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BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu are to share the stage at a youth convention called Manthan to be held in New Delhi on October 2.
Students from across the country will participate in the event and present to political leaders their ideas on critical challenges before India that should figure on the agenda for the 2014 polls.
An announcement by the Manthan organiser, Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), said Modi will deliver the closing address and Naidu has been invited to make the opening speech at the convention, which will be held at Tygaraj Sports Complex in New Delhi.
This is the first time Modi and Naidu will be seen together after recent parleys between the two parties that indicated that TDP was getting closer to BJP and might even consider joining the NDA to fight the elections together.
Besides the two leaders, the convention will also see a panel discussion involving Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi, CPI(M) central committee member Nilotpal Basu, Shiv Sena spokesperson Rahul Narvekar and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Balwant Singh Ramoowalia.
Ipsita Nayak, CAG member, said, as part of an initiative to strengthen accountable governance in India, Manthan encouraged college students to come up with innovative solutions to 14 themes widely recognised as some of the most critical challenges that India faces today.
The themes range from employability of the youth to electoral reforms to empowerment of women.
Nayak said previously around 10,000 students from more than 700 colleges and 200 cities across India participated in Manthan. "This is an unprecedented engagement by any youth movement in the nation so far. Students from IITs, IIMs, ISB, AIMS, NUJS, Delhi University, National Law School, St Xavier's College, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies have submitted their recommendations." A panel of 48 experts will adjudicate these recommendations.
The experts include TV Mohandas Pai (Chairman Global Manipal Education), Dr K Srinath Reddy (President PHFI and World Heart Federation), Dr Arvind Panagariya (Professor of Economics at Columbia University), Dr DN Kulkarni (President Agri Food at Jain Irrigation,) and Amita Chebbi (Country Director, Clinton Health Access).
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