NEW DELHI: Fresh tremors have been felt within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after reports of growing unease between the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the BJP, triggered by the handling of the recent IndiGo Airlines crisis. Senior leaders close to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu are said to be deeply upset over what they view as an “avoidable political slight” to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, India’s youngest cabinet minister.
According to TDP insiders, the party was stunned by the sharp criticism directed at Ram Mohan Naidu during the turbulence caused by the widespread flight disruptions. A senior TDP MP openly linked the chaos to the “highly monopolised aviation ecosystem” that allegedly favours IndiGo and results from “scripted policy decisions” under the Modi government. The MP also argued that the attack on the young minister was unfair, especially when he was only a few months into office and dealing with a long-standing structural crisis in the airline sector.
What has hurt the TDP leadership more, sources say, is the conspicuous silence of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. TDP leaders point out that PM Modi had personally stepped forward in past national crises—be it the Balasore train tragedy, the Pahalgam attack on pilgrims, or the Red Fort blast incident. “Why not now?” a senior TDP functionary asked, signalling the widening emotional gap between the coalition partners.
For the TDP, the silence is being seen as a breach of “coalition dharma.” The party expected the BJP’s top leadership to publicly back its young minister during a politically sensitive moment, especially when TDP’s support remains crucial in the NDA’s current parliamentary arithmetic.
After more than 72 hours without words of reassurance from the Prime Minister or the Home Minister, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu himself stepped in. Naidu not only provided moral support to Ram Mohan Naidu but also praised him publicly for “handling an unprecedented crisis with maturity, transparency, and composure.”
While both sides maintain that the alliance remains intact, the episode has exposed the fragile undercurrents within the NDA. Observers say the incident could serve as a crucial reminder that coalition politics requires both political sensitivity and timely communication—especially in a government where numbers matter and regional partners carry weight.
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