After losing Telangana, what does the future hold for Chandrababu Naidu and Prajakutami?

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has decided to give the event a skip. Naidu also declined invitation to Jagan Mohan Reddy's swearing-in ceremony.

After Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrashekar Rao prematurely dissolved the state assembly in September this year, the Opposition in the state grabbed it as an opportunity.

To make the best out of the situation, the Opposition decided to form a formidable alliance in order to ouster the ruling TRS and nip the BJP in the bud.

N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Congress, the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) formed a grand alliance called the Prajakutami.

The objective of the Prajakutami was not only restricted to an ambitious win in Telangana, but also to send a statement of intent to the ruling NDA at the Centre. However, TRS’ thumping victory in the state has projected that intent to be quite weak.

Even when the TDP and the Congress were only mulling over an alliance in Telangana, Naidu met Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader MK Stalin, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury, among others.

Naidu was probably looking at the long-term gains ahead of general election, hoping that if the alliance in Telangana succeeds, the same model can be applied in the bigger battle.

Unfortunately, the alliance lost, shattering Naidu’s hopes and dreams to the ground.

This defeat for Congress+ or the Prajakutami now projects a bleak chance for the ‘united opposition’ in the general election, particularly from Telangana. Naidu’s TDP, which had swallowed the bitter pill to form an alliance with Congress in the state, saw its seat count reduced to a mere two from its previous 17.

Earlier this year, Naidu had withdrawn from the NDA over granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh. He clutched on to the Congress hoping to win in Telangana. After facing a shameful defeat in the state election, Naidu is left a sorry figure.

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