With a BC song on his lips, TDP boss Chandrababu Naidu is in Delhi to serenade leaders of opposition parties. And he appeared to have won a new friend in Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav who said he would love to work with Naidu in future.
According to TDP Khammam MP Nama Nageswara Rao, Mulayam said he was with Nadiu and would continue to be so in future too.
The statement assumes significance as the Samajwadi Party is extending support to the UPA from outside.
During his two-day trip, the former chief minister is hoping to sell to opposition leaders his grand strategy of winning the support of India’s vast number of backward classes with promises of one-third reservation for them in all legislative bodies, an exclusive Union ministry for their welfare and reservations in promotions as well.
This is of a piece with his recent move annoucing at least 100 TDP tickets for the backward classes in the next election in Andhra Pradesh.
Before leaving for Delhi, Naidu slammed the state government for its inept handling of the case in the AP High Court relating to reservations for BCs in local bodies. “The government had no effective argument, and as a result, the court decreed that reservation for SCs, STs and BCs should not cross 50 per cent. Now the government will have to cut back the reservation percentage for BCs by 10.5 per cent,” he said.
After landing in Delhi, Naidu’s first call was on JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav. He also met Deve Gowda (Janata Dal S), Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), A B Bardhan and Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy (both CPI). Sudhakar Reddy promised his support for any movement against the BJP and the Congress while Chandrababu Naidu said he would not mind accepting supporting the BJP if it came forward to further the BC cause.
Naidu has sought appointments with the president and the Prime Minister.