Will do business with anyone but the Congress: Jagan

The alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party may have been cemented, but the story is not over for YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy yet. “I will do business with anyone but the Congress,” he said making his post poll intentions very clear, Jagan told mediapersons in Hyderabad, while saying that that he has big plans ahead for the new state of Seemandhra

“We will keep the best interests of the people in mind. The alliance will depend on what is good for the people of the region. However, I will make it clear that no matter what, there will not be an alliance with my former party, the Congress," he said.

While Jagan has kept his cards close to his heart and refused any pre-poll arrangement, experts say that this statement has come as part of a strategy. For him, the road ahead is not as easy as he may have thought. There are many voters who still see him as a former Congress man and this party (the Congress) does not enjoy the goodwill of the people of Seemandhra over the Telangana issue.

When Jagan says he is open to doing business with anyone barring the Congress, he means the National Democratic Alliance and the Third Front. Jagan would prefer to be part of a Third Front since it serves his purpose. Not only does he tell the people that he is part of a government outside the Congress, but also that his secular mantra will remain intact if he does not go with the BJP.

However, those watching Jagan closely say that there is a change in his body language. Although he has rubbished the opinion polls which give the BJP and the TDP a slight edge, he is aware of the ground situation. The TDP-BJP combine may have been a disaster in Telangana, but in Seemandhra, the TDP has gained.

“The people of the region want development at any cost and we will would try and put in a government which has a role to play both at the Centre as well as the state,” he said. Currently, the TDP appears to be in a better situation to do so and this is what has prompted him to make such a statement.

The statement comes out despite knowing well that an alliance with the NDA would also mean being with the TDP, and Naidu his sworn enemy in Seemandhra.