Up until now, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had dumped the BJP as an ally and moved the first no trust motion against the Modi government. Now, top sources in the TDP say that party chief N Chandrababu Naidu is taking his tirade further by working on a "southern front" against the BJP.

Naidu, sources say, has already put the plan into action and is in touch with parties in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. He has also deputed leaders from his party to stay in constant touch with the top brass of these parties to ensure the idea floated by him does not lose traction. Naidu's plan can reduce the BJP's chances to build state specific alliance down south

"Naidu used the no-trust motion on July 20 to test the waters. Party leaders were deputed to speak to every party in south India barring the Congress or those who due to their compulsions cannot go with the TDP. Of course, for the trust motion, several other parties in north, east and west India were contacted. " said senior TDP leader, who chose to remain anonymous.

The idea to form a southern party front has huge political merit for Naidu. It enhances the bargaining power of the parties which join this proposed front. As a block, they can negotiate better with any alternative to the BJP or even within a third front in the pre or post poll scenario.

A senior DMK leader, who the TDP has been in touch with, said, "Since most of us are state specific parties, we will not be each other's rivals in any state. The front also can give the TDP to be a key player in government formation at the Centre and earn a plum deal for his party. Compared to the other regional parties in South India, Naidu has more experience in the Centre, having handled the United Front as convenor, and then as an ally of the BJP in Vajpayee government."

The front will also help Naidu to camouflage better the fact that he was an ally of the BJP a while ago, and improve his acceptability among minority voters to take on rivals like Congress' YS Jaganmohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh.

Ahead of the trust vote, Naidu had created six teams with a few senior leaders of the party as members. Group 1 comprised on YS Chowdhry (Ex minister in the Modi government), and two MPs. The group met TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, BJD's Naveen Patnaik, AAP's Arvind Kerjriwal and Akali Dal leaders.

Group 3 had the crucial task of convincing the DMK, AIADMK, JD(S) leaders about the possibility of a future tie up. The group met M K Stalin, Kanimozhi, HD Kumaraswamy and even HD Deve Gowda. Support for no trust motion was the top agenda - the first outreach to test the chances of a southern front

The same group had met the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party leaders for the no-trust motion against the Modi government. In a meticulously drawn operation with attention to minor details, the groups reached out even to the rivals. Former civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, known for his low profile, was sent out with three leaders to meet the TDP rivals in Telangana, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, and also the Kerala Congress.

Naidu displayed superb strategy making skills. He and his group leaders met leaders of 26-odd parties, including those who are already in alliance with national parties - like Congress ally RJD, BJP partner Akali Dal and Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party. Since the Shiv Sena is in the throes of snapping its ties with the BJP, Naidu sent a team of messengers to the Sena leaedership as well, ignoring fears that meeting them may threaten his minority vote

Senior TDP leaders say that others may have spoken ahout playing a key role in forming fronts against the BJP, but Naidu has already started doing it. The Congress, they believe, tried to hijack the no trust motion moved by the TDP in the Lok Sabha by creating a Rahul Gandhi vs Narendra Modi clash.

The motion got only 126 votes, but Naidu had scientifically set the stage to make his mark on the debate. Two days before the trust vote, Naidu met top bureaucrats and leaders. The points to be made during the no trust motion were finalised. The team of top state government bureaucrats reached Delhi a day before the motion was to be taken up. This included the Andhra Pradesh finance secretary Ravi Chandra, resident commissioner Praveen Prakash, AP reorganisation act in-charge PC Reddy, Satish Chandra, the Secretary to the chief minister, and the state planning commission head Kutumb Rao.

A booklet of demands of the residual state, promises made by the NDA and aid provided was published in 6 indian languages along with English. this included Punjabi and Urdu.

The TDP, by deploying pointsmen for parties in UP and Bihar, is keeping the back channels working with the parties who may emerge as king makers in the post 2019 general election scenario. That is why, top leaders have been meeting RJD chief Lalu Yadav, JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar and SP's Akhilesh Yadav.

With PM Narendra Modi, the TDP chief has been carrying out a balancing act between distancing his party from the BJP and avoiding the tag of an unreliable ally. He has kick-started the ground work for a "new project" with a few southern parties, as his equity among the Left and other forces of the proposed third front are wary of him. This comes due to his two outings with the BJP as an ally - during Vajpayee's and Modi's regimes after abandoning the alternative to the Congress and the BJP.