Hyderabad: By rubbing shoulders with the regional satraps from across the country and saying hello for the first time to Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi at HD Kumaraswamy’s swearing in Bengaluru, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has created a stir in his own state.

For Naidu, it was a day of mixed feelings as he met his friends of the United Front days including HD Deve Gowda and Sitaram Yechuri, as well as the leaders of bitter political rivals, including Rahul Gandhi.

Posing for photographs along with other regional leaders and waving to the massive crowds in front of Vidhan Soudha must have been a throwback to the mid 1990s for Naidu when he as the covenor of the United Front was the pivot of national politics and played a key role in making Deve Gowda the Prime Minister.

Naidu also held one-on-one meetings separately with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Yechuri and was asked by Mamata to take the initiative to form a front of regional parties.

While the show of opposition unity in Bengaluru has sparked many a dream of a larger opposition formation taking on the might of the Narendra Modi-led BJP, regional leaders like Naidu have also started thinking of their own moves to safeguard their own turfs.

Political observers have started reading between the lines of Naidu saying hello to Sonia Gandhi and patting Rahul as his willingness to do business with a party which remained untouchable for his Telugu Desam Party since inception in 1982.

It was unthinkable till a few months back as anti-Congressism was the bete noire of TDP and Naidu never lost an opportunity to blame Congress for the all the ills caused by the state’s bifurcation.

But the dramatic change of political scenario in the state, specially the break up of the TDP with the BJP seems to have forced Naidu to open up to the possibility of joining hands with Congress.

Two factors appears to be working in this direction. Firstly, the Congress is no more the main challenger for the TDP in AP. Secondly, there is an ever-increasing possibility of his main enemy Jaganmohan Reddy of YSRCP partnering with the BJP in the next elections. This hardly leaves Naidu with any other option but to find new friends.

YSRCP has already started targeting Naidu for his tilt towards Congress. “After enjoying the fruits of power in the company of BJP for last four years now Naidu is planning to marry the Congress party,” said Jaganmohan Reddy in a public meeting in West Godavari district.

YSRCP MP Vara Prasad said that Naidu was all set to join hands with Congress which was responsible for bifurcation of the state.

If Naidu moves closer to Congress in Andhra Pradesh it was bound to have an impact on politics of Telangana too where TDP still has a sizeable mass base. With TRS pressing on with anti-Congress and anti-TDP line, the two parties may follow the adage “enemy’s enemy is my friend” and come together to join forces against the TRS.