NEW DELHI: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is keeping a close watch on rapid internal developments within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following the appointment of Nitin Nabin as the party’s new working president—an organisational move that has quietly sent ripples across the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Senior TDP leaders admit that while the party continues to extend crucial support to the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, the sudden elevation of Nabin has come as a surprise to key allies. “We are closely observing the internal developments within the BJP,” a senior TDP leader close to Naidu said. “The manner in which the RSS appears to have been completely sidelined has surprised many stakeholders, including us.”
Naidu, widely regarded as one of the most astute readers of national political trends, is believed to be paying particular attention to what this appointment indicates about the BJP’s post–Modi-Shah succession planning. Party insiders say the move reinforces the perception that the BJP leadership is seeking to consolidate organisational authority by placing trusted loyalists at critical positions.
Another TDP source recalled BJP president J.P. Nadda’s statement in early 2024, in which he had remarked that the party no longer needed the RSS’s support to win elections. “Many within the NDA feel that Nabin’s appointment underlines that thinking and gives it organisational shape,” the source said.
Although TDP MPs in both Houses of Parliament have refrained from issuing any official statement, senior leaders privately view the development as far more than a routine internal reshuffle. “This is not just the BJP’s internal matter,” a TDP leader noted. “Such decisions have implications for allies who are deeply invested in the stability, balance and future direction of the NDA.”
Naidu is also closely monitoring the evolving relationship between the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The apparent marginalisation of the RSS in the appointment process has raised concerns among allies who have traditionally seen the BJP–RSS equation as a stabilising force within the ruling alliance.
Meanwhile, the TDP is also reassessing the Centre’s proposed new rural guarantee scheme, reiterating its reservations over the potential financial burden on states already facing fiscal stress—an issue the party has repeatedly flagged in NDA deliberations.
For Naidu and the TDP, the message from New Delhi appears unambiguous: the BJP is recalibrating its internal power structure, and NDA allies would be prudent to track every shift with care.
[Writer is Senior Journalist and Political Commentator]
Picture credit social media
Umakant Lakhera is a Senior Journalist and Political Commentator
