Being equidistant on political axis

Call it the art of staying rooted yet bending with prevailing political winds. With Telangana going to polls in December, and Assembly and LS elections in Andhra and Odisha scheduled next year, what factors have influenced parties' recent moves? RAMANI RANJAN MOHAPATRA writes.

- AMANI RANJAN MOHAPATRA

In 2018, when the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from Andhra Pradesh unsuccessfully moved a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government over the delay in granting special category status to the state, the neighbouring Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) staged a walkout, claiming that the four years of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government were as bad as the previous Congress-led regime.

Fast forward to 2023, and the TDP, its rival and the ruling party in the southern state, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), and the BJD have not only opposed the no-confidence motion moved by the INDIA bloc but have also favoured the Delhi Services Bill, a departure from the equidistance stance they claimed to maintain.

While the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana continues to remain "equidistant", the other parties have readily supported the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) causes when needed. This is significant as they together hold 50 of the 63 Lok Sabha (LS) seats in the three states. With Telangana going to polls in December, and Assembly and LS elections in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha slated simultaneously next year, what factors influenced these regional parties' recent moves in Parliament?

BJD's change of heart?

A couple of days after the BJD helped the Centre clear the Delhi Services Bill in the LS, Home Minister Amit Shah flew to Odisha to lay the foundation stone for a highway project, alongside Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Shah did not miss the opportunity to praise Patnaik for his "constructive cooperation in upholding cooperative federalism".