On the result day (June 4), it appeared like the NDA government would be unstable if it was formed in alliance with TDP and JDU at the Centre. Chandrababu Naidu had a fallout with Narendra Modi in the past. And Nitish Kumar is even more unreliable, notorious for making U-Turns.
However, over the past few days, the impression you gain is that Naidu has figured out that he doesn't have much leeway with the INDIA bloc and that Modi is his best bet. He also realizes that the Modi factor played a good role in his TDP-led alliance storming to power in Andhra Pradesh.
His place in the INDIA bloc would be trivial, given that he will have to compete with many other parties for importance. Rahul Gandhi's political wisdom is also untested. On the other hand, with Modi, Naidu can extract some promises on principle. If reasonable and doable within fiscal constraints, Modi will have no reason to back off.
In politics, trustworthiness is important. Modi enjoys that, perhaps with both Naidu and Jagan. Modi must have made some promises in private and that's why Naidu is confident of leaving a legacy by building Amaravathi as a political capital and Vizag as a financial capital. If the Centre gives enough assistance, Naidu will have no reason to mess with Modi. Even if the CM's demands are unrealistic and Modi ignores them, Naidu knows that the Pawan Kalyan factor is crucial for the popularity of his government in AP. If Modi passes an order, PK will sever ties with Naidu the same day.
