Southern Lights | Andhra Pradesh: Strategic alignments, Centre's push help BJP expand in the state

BJP sees a need to grow out of TDP’s shadow to strengthen itself. It has gained in popularity but has to brush off the image that it is under Naidu’s control

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Andhra Pradesh (AP) is looking to capitalise on the favourable perception it garnered in the state with the NDA coming to power and the ₹15,000 crore central grant that has enabled the national party to correct its anti-Andhra image.

The sudden rise in popularity of the BJP has surprised leaders( AFP)

Both national parties - the BJP and Congress - were perceived as anti-Andhra and failed to gain public trust since their leaders allowed the bifurcation of the united Andhra Pradesh to create Telangana in 2014. “The atmosphere has changed for the better for us since the Lok Sabha and assembly election that took place this May. We intend to build on this wave by undertaking activities across the state in different regions from August 15 onwards. The BJP’s aim in AP is to be a bridge between the public and the government by creating a platform to voice matters concerning citizen welfare,” said PVN Madhav, senior BJP leader and former MLC from Andhra.

The BJP’s vote share in the Andhra Pradesh Lok Sabha election rose to 11% from a negligible 0.98% in the 2019 general election. The party won three parliamentary seats in the state with Bhupathi Raju Srinivas Varma being accommodated in the union cabinet as minister of state for heavy industries.

What led to the correction in perception?

A coming together of factors, state leaders and political pundits said.

The sudden rise in popularity of the BJP has surprised leaders. The BJP has been a collateral beneficiary of the political situation in Andhra Pradesh. Partnering with the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party and Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party, the BJP found itself on the winning side. This helped the party ride on the regional parties’ popularity because of the strong anti-incumbency wave against the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led- YSR Congress party that ruled AP for the last five years.

Firstly, the BJP clearly gained by its strategic alignment, which helped the party smoothly wade through the issue of leadership concerns in the state.

Secondly, neither regional party contested the BJP on critical issues such as the divestment of the steel plant in Visakhapatnam or the rising unemployment in the state during the last 10 years. Both parties blamed each other for their intransigence. The Congress’ depleted strength between 2014 - 2024 in the Lok Sabha further weakened them in a state that blamed them directly for the bifurcation.

“Hardly anyone questioned the BJP in the last 10 years. Jagan and Naidu almost behaved like non-NDA allies despite not being part of the alliance,” said Nageshwar Rao, former MLC, and professor, journalism at Osmania University.

And, third, with Sharmila Reddy, daughter of the late Andhra chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy taking charge of the Congress only in January this year, the Congress party did not have a chance to regroup and chalk out a plan to counter the NDA narrative or take advantage of the anti-incumbency issue prevalent in the state. “Sharmila is using the Congress as a platform to settle scores with her brother-turned-political opponent Jagan Mohan Reddy. So, she does not seem to be concerned about the TDP or JSP’s rule in the state. The Congress is seen to be on the back foot in this situation,” Rao said.

While the political situation abetted the shift in perception, the Centre’s announcement to nationalise the Polavaram irrigation project was successful in catching the imagination of the voters. The massive irrigation cum hydroelectricity project on the Godavari and the river could irrigate lakhs of acres across the state and provide drinking water to several districts in northern Andhra Pradesh, which often face poor rain spells. The promise of Polavaram has eluded Andhra for nearly 50 years.

What are the BJP’s chances of rising in AP?

As the situation prevails, the state unit of the party is enthused by its recent gains in the elections that were conducted conterminously in the state and the parliament. “We are pleasantly surprised by this correction in the public mindset but we do understand that the positive sentiment is because AP currently has a higher number of central ministers than before. We expect several joinings from other parties in the months to follow,” said Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, senior BJP leader from AP.

But the party sees a need to grow out of the TDP’s shadow to strengthen itself in the coming years. While on the one hand, it has gained in the popularity rankings in the state, the BJP has to brush off the image that it is under Naidu’s control. The party under its state chief D Purandareswari is looking to improve its presence in various regions of the state and also aims to perform better in the panchayat elections scheduled later this year.

“Modi has been a periodic visitor to Andhra Pradesh in the last five years. This has also helped the BJP rise in the state. While it is in a better position than the Congress in Andhra, the state is already crowded with three regional parties. So, unless we and our allies in the state improve the track record of governance in Andhra Pradesh, the party will be left with few options to explore after 2029,” Vishnu Reddy said.

Deepika Amirapu is a freelance journalist based in Hyderabad. Each week, Southern Lights examines the big story from one of the five states of South India.