Assuming that the upcoming Lok Sabha polls would throw up a fractured verdict, which in all probability could be the case, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), YSR Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) could decide whether the Narendra Modi government will get to rule the country for another five year term.
According to an election analysis column on Wednesday, News18 said these three powerful regional satraps from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana, together giving 63 MPs to the Lok Sabha, will decide the fate of the nation for the coming five years.
These three regional parties, by all indications, are expected to fare well in the polls slated in April-May. BJD, in fact, could win all the 21 seats, the website said quoting internal sources withing the party. YSR Congress, similarly, could bag half of the 25 seats in Andhra Pradesh. Likewise, it could be an encore for TRS after the massive win in the assembly polls. Therefore, these parties will have a big say in government formation.
With a good number of seats in their kitty, they will emerge as a crucial regional block, whose stand will dictate the post-poll political equations at the Centre. In such a scenario, BJP’s chances at government formation could look brighter. For, neither BJD, YSR Congress or the TRS will join or support Congress or a grand alliance. None of them attended the Mahagathbandhan rally in Kolkata.
BJD has always said to have maintained equidistance from both BJP and Congress, despite being part of NDA till 2009. YSR Congress, even if it made some hard bargain with Congress, has decided not to join hands with it since TDP is now a part of the grand alliance also supported by Congress. The TRS is also looking at a non-BJP and non-Congress alliance. The party would rather tend to support a BJP-led government at the Centre then go with Congress. The same might also hold true with the BJD since it was once part of the NDA, News18 said. Quoting internal sources, it said in all probability, BJD might support the BJP-led government from outside, but only as a last resort.