At a time when the regional parties across the country are looking at an anti-Modi front with or without the Congress, one name is not at all being heard. Normally, it is hard to ignore this personality in any political configuration. The leader in question is Chandrababu Naidu.

But, Chandrababu is missing In Mamta Banerjee’s national expansion plans or even in Prashant Kishore-led anti-Modi front. Chandrababu too is said to be uninterested in these configurations. But time was when he literally led the plans to form political fronts. Chandrababu played an instrumental role in making Deve Gowda and IK Gujral prime ministers. He was also key to the Vajpayee government as the convener of the NDA.

Even in case of 2019 elections, he talked of third front and held parleys with regional satraps like Mamta Banerjee, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad Pawar and Mayawati. He even talked of forming a regional pressure group ahead of the 2019 elections. But, all these calculations went awry when he failed to come back to power in Andhra Pradesh. Besides losing power in the state, he now has just three Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha MP in his kitty. Such low numbers can never be effective bargaining chips.

But sources close to Chandrababu claim that Chandrababu does not want to antagonize Modi at this stage. Hence, he is adopting a neutral stand. More than that, his first priority is to come back to power in 2024. Chandrababu realizes that protecting his citadel in AP is more important that playing a key role at the Centre at this stage. Hence he is said to have negatived proposals from some regional leaders to join the ‘third front.’ He feels that a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. Clever politics indeed.

TDP chief and AP CM N. Chandrababu Naidu is all set to bring together anti-BJP regional parties at a meeting to be held in Delhi on November 22. CBN is convincing Deve Gowda, Mamatha Bennerjee and other regional leaders to come together with the sole purpose of ousting the Modi government in 2019 general election. CBN is visiting Kolkata on Monday to meet with Mamata and discuss the need for setting aside smaller differences with the Congress and move ahead for defeating the BJP.

There are doubts among some regional players like Trinamool Congress and Bahujana Samaj Party that the Congress would not be cooperative in forming a national level anti-BJP front. Moreover, leaders of the Congress party in respective states would be more interested in protecting their own interests rather than working for the common goal. Mayawati has already expressed suspicions saying that the Congress is still feeling as it it has enough strength to take on and confront Team Modi in 2019 elections. Meanwhile, Mamata Bennerjee is also not so favourable to formation of a front inclusive of Congress. She is preferring the coming together of regional players which will decide on working with the Congress at the time of elections depending on the prevailing political situation at that time. Naidu’s main agenda ahead of November 22 meeting is to persuade the regional players and stalwarts to realise the need for immediate formation of an anti-Modi front so as to make it effective by the time 2019 elections approach.

Stalwarts like former prime minister Deve Gowda, Mamata Bennerjee, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, Lok Tantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, CPI leaders and others are expected to attend the Delhi meeting.