Jagan Mohan Reddy, who leads the YSRCP and previously served as Andhra Pradesh chief minister, has added his voice to calls for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation — a stance that some political analysts have described as part of shifting alliances among parties across the southern region. That position represents a departure from the stance he had previously held, during a period when YSRCP maintained steady backing for the BJP-led NDA administration at the national level.

The decision by Reddy has drawn observers into discussions about a potential warming of ties with the Congress-led INDIA bloc. A CBI court's move to schedule daily hearings on Enforcement Directorate matters — running them in parallel with existing CBI proceedings — has placed the disproportionate assets cases against Reddy under closer judicial attention, a development that coincides with his shift in position.

Reddy's reported manoeuvring for new political partnerships in Delhi comes against the backdrop of Chandrababu Naidu's TDP holding a settled position within the NDA alliance. Sources with knowledge of the situation have told reporters that Reddy held talks with senior Congress leadership, a gathering reportedly coordinated through Vishnu Reddy, who serves as an adviser to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay.

Unconfirmed reports have circulated about a face-to-face encounter between Reddy and Congress general secretary KC Venugopal in Bengaluru, with no formal acknowledgement from either party. YSRCP rejected the allegations outright, characterising them as material fabricated by TDP with the aim of conveying that the party had moved closer to the Opposition bloc.

Around the same period, YSRCP sharpened its stance toward the Election Commission of India, with the party's outreach activities running alongside that harder line. Having previously backed the CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the party is now calling for a return to the earlier framework under which the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India jointly held a role in the selection process.

Separately, Reddy has put forward challenges to the functioning of the Election Commission of India, while YSRCP submitted a list of nine specific queries directed at the administration of the 2024 Andhra Pradesh state polls. Among the contested points are reported inconsistencies in polling percentages, battery levels on electronic voting machines, tallied vote figures, and the withholding of electoral documentation.

That September, Reddy's meeting with a CPI delegation offered an early indication of how political loyalties were beginning to realign, with both parties announcing plans to stage joint protests against government policies. That YSRCP had previously kept its distance from the Opposition alliance made the party's move toward the Left — a constituent of the INDIA bloc — a development worth noting, according to observers.

For close to a decade, Reddy positioned his party at arm's length from the NDA — casting votes in favour of key parliamentary legislation while stopping short of any formal alliance arrangement with the BJP. Following its loss of power in Andhra Pradesh during 2024, the YSRCP chose to keep its relationship with the central government largely free of open friction.

With the TDP now holding a seat inside the NDA coalition, the arrangement that once held those two forces together has come under strain. No formal announcement of talks with the INDIA bloc has been made, yet the steps taken by Reddy point to YSRCP leadership holding its national political positioning flexible as the 2029 assembly and parliamentary contests draw closer.