India election results updates: Modi elected leader of BJP-led coalition

Naidu, a former Congress leader and an on-and-off ally of Modi, could now decide the shape and stability of the next government. His Telugu Desam Party (TDP), based in the state of Andhra Pradesh, is the second-biggest in Modi’s NDA with 16 seats.

Naidu has endorsed Modi. In 2019, however, he had taken the lead in bringing together all opposition parties against Modi.

Naidu, 74, is on bail after being jailed last year on corruption charges he has denied. The investigation is continuing, but it could be put on the back burner now that Naidu has won a separate local election to run the state government.

Naidu is demanding senior ministerial positions in the next Modi government for his party, sources told Reuters. “Naidu is a very shrewd politician and I believe he would proceed cautiously,” said economist and political analyst Pentapati Pullarao.

Touted as a tech-savvy politician, Naidu often talks about his meeting with Microsoft founder Bill Gates more than 20 years ago while he was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. The state’s former capital is now home to the India offices of many software giants, including Microsoft.

Naidu, who first became a state lawmaker in 1978 on a Congress ticket, took over the reins of TDP in the 1990s, effectively deposing his father-in-law who founded the party. He is also known to have moderate views of India’s minority Muslims, in contrast to the BJP’s image.