Is Pawan Kalyan trying to broker peace between Modi and Chandrababu Naidu?

New Delhi: Jana Sena chief and actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Eastern Naval Command area in Visakhapatnam on Friday evening.

In the meeting, Pawan Kalyan is said to have pitched for a grand alliance against the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) for the 2024 assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh.

Pawan Kalyan is keen on seeing the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) back in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold. He wants a patch-up between the Prime Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

The TDP snapped ties with the BJP and exited the NDA in March 2018 over the demand for special status for Andhra Pradesh. Naidu even alleged that Modi was trying to repeat in Andhra Pradesh what he had done in Tamil Nadu, pointing to the divide in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

The TDP later moved a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha in July 2018 against the Modi government for not granting special status to Andhra Pradesh and not implementing the assurances given to the state in the AP Reorganization Act. The YSRCP too had moved its own no-confidence motion against the Modi government on the same issue in the Lower House of Parliament.

However, the motion was defeated with the government securing 325 votes against the opposition's 126.

In the subsequent 2019 Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, the YSRCP swept to power, bagging 151 seats in the 175-member assembly. It also won 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats.

The TDP finished a distant second with 23 assembly and three Lok Sabha seats. Pawan Kalyan's JSP, which made the electoral debut, bagged just one assembly seat. Both the Congress and the BJP drew a blank.

In 2014, the TDP had bagged 102 seats while its then-ally BJP had won four seats. The YSRCP had won 67 seats and two independents were also elected. In the simultaneous Lok Sabha polls, the TDP had won 15 seats, the YSRCP eight and the BJP two seats.

After a gap of over four years, Modi and Naidu met during the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav national committee meeting in New Delhi on August 6 this year. Later, the two held a brief discussion on the sidelines.

Coinciding with the Modi-Naidu meeting, Naidu's son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh also met union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

Later, Shah during his day-long visit to Telangana on August 21 met media baron Ramoji Rao, who is considered close to the TDP. Shah also met popular actor Junior NTR, grandson of TDP founder and former chief minister NT Rama Rao, popularly known as NTR. The BJP is keen to have Junior NTR in its fold.

Amid the renewed bonhomie between the BJP and TDP, Pawan Kalyan too joined hands with Naidu to launch a front against Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

During his visit to Visakhapatnam on October 15 to attend Jana Vani programme to attend to public grievances, the authorities had not let Pawan Kalyan step out of the hotel for nearly 36 hours on the law and order ground.

Naidu later called on Pawan Kalyan at Vijayawada and both issued a joint statement, stressing the need to jointly fight against the YSRCP government.

Now, Kalyan is trying hard to seal the peace deal between the BJP and the TDP in a bid to forge a grand alliance against Jagan.

After his detailed discussion with Modi, Kalyan claimed the meeting would bring good days for the state and its people.

Though the YSRCP has played ball with the BJP and supported the Modi government on all critical issues inside and outside Parliament, the saffron party wants to see Jagan's ouster in the 2024 assembly elections and strengthen its presence in Andhra Pradesh even if had take the help of the TDP and Pawan Kalyan.