Chandrababu Naidu's 2019 interview shared to claim he is joining the INDIA bloc

What is the claim?

A social media user shared a video of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and Chief Minister-elect of the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, speaking to English news channel NDTV with a caption, "Breaking News! Chandrababu Naidu gave a surprising statement that an alliance with anti-constitutionalists is never possible, I will join hands with the INDIA bloc for the development of the country (translated from Kannada)."

In the video, Naidu says, "Secular Agenda. We are secular. We used to join BJP sometimes, because of political compulsion, that is another. Today there is democratic compulsion, you have to understand the democratic compulsion CBI, ED, even Income Tax, everybody is attacking. All Institutions are demolished (sic)."

The news outlet's reporter then asks Naidu a follow-up question about who will be the prime ministerial face, to which Naidu replies, "All leaders are better than Narendra Modi. Country needs consensus politics. It is a great nation. What cooperative federalism you have implemented? ...You can go through history — so many times, after elections, Prime Ministers are chosen (sic)." Archived versions of posts insinuating that Naidu supports NDA's rival INDIA bloc can be found here and here.

Screenshot of the claim circulating online. (Source:Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

In the recently concluded Indian general elections, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 293 seats, securing a comfortable majority. However, the BJP fell short of the halfway mark (272) and now relies on its alliance partners, including the TDP, to form the government. The TDP has won 16 parliamentary seats in Andhra Pradesh.

However, the viral video is old and doesn't show Naidu recently criticizing the BJP as discussions for the government formation are underway after the 2024 Lok Sabha election results.

What are the facts?

After running some keyframes from the viral clip through a reverse image search, we discovered a longer version of the video (archived here) on NDTV's official YouTube channel, published on February 12, 2019, with the title, "Chandrababu Naidu vs PM Modi: Battle Turns Personal?" The viral segment, where Chandrababu Naidu says that all leaders are better than Modi, can be heard at the 7:03 mark.

We also found a report by NDTV published on February 11, 2019, that stated that Naidu's interview with the outlet was taken when Naidu was on a day-long fast in New Delhi to demand special status for Andhra Pradesh. Naidu spoke about his political strategy involving the BJP in the interview. He explained that aligning with the BJP was initially a "political compulsion," but now forming an anti-BJP coalition has become a "democratic compulsion." When the reporter inquires about the face of the anti-BJP bloc, Naidu says, "All leaders are better than Narendra Modi."

We also did not find any credible recent news reports quoting any TDP leaders on Chandrababu Naidu allegedly joining hands with the INDIA alliance. Naidu was present at the NDA meeting held on June 5 where members of the NDA alliance signed a document to officially elect Narendra Modi as the alliance leader.

On June 5, Naidu also posted pictures (archived here) of himself at the NDA meeting after the Lok Sabha election results were declared. In the post, Naidu emphasized the unity and support within the NDA coalition. He stated that in recognition of the people's mandate, all NDA partners "unanimously endorsed Shri Narendra Modi as their coalition leader." Naidu expressed confidence in Modi's leadership.

Screenshot of the post Chandrababu Naidu shared on June 5. (Source:X)

The verdict

A 2019 interview of Chandrababu Naidu, while he was on a daylong fast in New Delhi, has been circulated as recent. Naidu has not made any statement against the BJP after the announcement of the 2024 Lok Sabha election results and seems poised to remain allied with the NDA.