VIJAYAWADA: The meeting of TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on the tarmac of Bengaluru airport on Thursday sparked fresh speculation on the possible change in political equations in Andhra Pradesh ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections.
The duo met as Naidu landed at the airport to head to his home constituency, Kuppam, while Shivakumar was en route to Nagpur to attend the Congress Formation Day celebrations.
In a video, both leaders were seen shaking hands and interacting briefly before parting ways.
The ‘chance’ meeting between Naidu and Shivakumar comes in the background of Congress mulling over making YS Sharmila, the daughter of former chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy, and younger sister of current Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) chief or the star campaigner in the State.
It may be pointed out that the yellow party is currently in an alliance with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party, which is already an ally of the BJP. On several occasions, the actor-politician has expressed hope that the saffron party would agree to form a three-party alliance.
However, the BJP is yet to announce its decision.TDP leaders, on the other hand, have brushed aside all reports and maintained that the meeting between Naidu and Shivakumar was pure coincidence.