Leaders of the regional parties have asserted that these parties continue to play a decisive role in shaping India’s political landscape and insist that their choices are rooted in national interest rather than opportunism.

On the second day of The Hindu Huddle 2026 on Saturday (June 6, 2026), Rajya Sabha members Javed Ali Khan (Samajwadi Party), Santrupt Misra (Biju Janata Dal) and former Speaker of united Andhra Pradesh and former BRS Parliamentary leader K.R. Suresh Reddy in conversation with Nistula Hebbar, Political Editor, The Hindu in one voice said there has been growing influence of regional parties.

Mr. Reddy, a senior politician with three decades of political stints as an MLA and MP, maintained that his party believed in neutrality and issue-based positions. “We are neither with UPA nor NDA. Our stand depends on national interest. The BRS opposed the Kisan Bill but supported demonetisation. We opposed the Waqf Bill. The stance is not political or ideological but fundamentally based on the larger interest of the country,” he pointed out.

He also defended Telangana’s statehood demand pointing out that what did not happen in 65 years has happened in the last 10 years. “From a drought‑stricken region, it is today the country’s most prosperous State. Our demand for a separate State was on grounds of water, funds, and jobs,” Mr. Reddy said crediting the BRS regime for the overall development.

First-time Rajya Sabha member Santrupt Misra echoed the sentiment of Mr. Reddy and Mr. Javed Ali stating that growing influence of the regional parties was evident in how the BJD had performed and secured 182 Lok Sabha seats between 1999 and 2024.

He went on to caution against double standards in coalition politics pointing out that if a national party aligns with a regional party to form a government, it is seen as pragmatic. “But if I, as a regional party close to people’s issues, choose to align based on national interest, I am accused of being politically convenient,” he observed.

Mr. Misra further cited Odisha’s transformation under Naveen Patnaik as proof of issue‑based leadership. “From a bankrupt State in 2000, it became revenue surplus in 2024 because he was not serving BJD’s interest but the people’s interest,” he said.

On simultaneous polls

On the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal, he urged caution, saying: “The first five elections were simultaneous. The question is whether it strengthens or weakens democracy, whether local issues get neglected, whether Assembly terms get reduced. Every national issue that impacts the Constitution and people’s lives must be debated in detail,” he remarked.

Mr. Reddy supported ‘One Nation, One Election’. “Constant elections are not in the larger interest of the nation. Like Odisha, which voted one party to Parliament and another to the State, we are confident of the electorate,” he confidently declared.

Mr. Javed Ali of the Samajwadi Party took a dig at the Congress saying that it is now reduced to a regional party, even though they are their allies. “We are a regional party in terms of Election Commission, but a national party in terms of ideology,” he said.

The Hindu Huddle is presented by the Sami-Sabinsa Group as the Presenting Partner. The event is co-powered by the Government of Telangana and held in association with Khaja Bandanawaz University.

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