The BJP may be an ally of the TDP now, sharing power both in the state and at the Centre, but emerging as the "only alternative" to the ruling party in AP is an ambitious plan that Shah seemingly has chalked out for the party.
Caste calculations have been worked out and leaders who fit into the grand plan have been identified to make BJP stronger across the state, party sources said.
Already, former minister Kanna Lakshmi Narayana from Guntur district has joined the saffron ranks and BJP insiders say others like former CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy and former PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana may also jump onto the bandwagon sooner or later. Their dislike for Chandrababu is well-known.
Like Kanna, if Kiran and Botsa too join the BJP as is being speculated, it will be a bitter pill for Chandrababu to swallow, they said.
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And, the biggest trump card for the BJP may come in the form of film star Pawan Kalyan, one of the staunch admirers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kalyan floated his own political outfit Jana Sena ahead of the May elections but he threw his lot behind the TDP-BJP combine.
The Prime Minister widely acknowledged Kalyan's role in turning the tide in favour of the combine and now, in concert with Shah, is said to be working on the plan to get the star completely into their fold.
"Kalyan's charisma works across AP and not just these districts. But here, he can hold the key," a senior BJP leader said.