VIJAYAWADA: In a giant leap of realpolitik before the 2019 mother of all elections, Telugu Desam Party boss N Chandrababu Naidu took a break from 35 years of strident anti-Congressism to join hands with the grand old party. He met Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Thursday and agreed to work together to “save the nation and democracy”.Till not long ago, Naidu was foremost in his criticism of Congress, painting the party as a villain of the bifurcation of unified Andhra Pradesh and responsible for the state’s woes.However, the alleged betrayal of PM Narendra Modi and BJP leadership moved him close to the Congress. He made his first move to be inch closer to Congress at Bengaluru when HD Kumaraswamy assumed charge as chief minister of Karnataka, defeating BJP. For the first time, Naidu shared the dais with Congress leaders and shook hands with Rahul Gandhi at Bengaluru.Addressing a joint press conference after their hourlong meeting in Delhi, AICC president Rahul Gandhi and AP CM Chandrababu Naidu said they are working together keeping their past differences for the sake of the nation. “We (Congress and TDP) are not going to get into the past. We are more concerned about the present and future,” Gandhi said when asked about the differences between the TDP and the Congress.Naidu actually started his political career with Congress as a student at SV University in Tirupathi. He became an MLA from Chandragiri assembly constituency in 1978 on a Congress ticket. In 1980, he became minister for technical education and cinematography in Tanguturi Anjaiah government.When his father-in-law NT Rama Rao launched Telugu Desam Party, Chandrababu Naidu remained with Congress and contested the 1983 elections on a Congress ticket. However, after the defeat of Congress in the election, he joined TDP. He played a key role in bringing NTR back to power in the 1984 coup by Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, aptly displaying his organisational skills. He kept NTR loyal MLAs intact and had even organised a parade of MLAs in support of NTR before the then President.NTR’s return to power, subsequently, gave him a pride of place in the party. In no time, he became second in command. He continued to play the next-only-to-NTR role in the TDP till August 1995, when he became the chief minister.Naidu over the years emerged as a strong critic of the Congress in the state and even at the national level. He aligned with the BJP, became part of NDA. Being with the BJP, he never left a chance to attack the Congress.Thursday’s meeting with Rahul Gandhi finally brought him back to the Congress, “to save the nation” from the BJP and Narendra Modi.

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