New Delhi: Narendra Modi and Chandrababu Naidu could share the dais at what is being called a "non-political" function in Delhi on October 2, Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary. It is being seen as an indication that Mr Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party has overcome his reservation of many years to being seen on the same side as the Gujarat Chief Minister.
Will the TDP and the BJP be partners again after almost 10 years?
In Facebook parlance, the BJP has sent a friend request to Chandrababu Naidu and he could well accept it given his current political situation in Andhra Pradesh.
TDP sources say that the former chief minister calculates that gains from an alliance with the Narendra Modi-led BJP will more than offset the hit he is likely to take in his vote base for aligning himself with a man seen by many as a right-wing Hindutva mascot.
As he does his arithmetic, Mr Naidu has to factor in a likely tie-up between the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS in the Telangana region and the growing clout of the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress in the Seemandhra region - as the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions are collectively called.
The Andhra BJP is reportedly not thrilled with the prospect of an alliance with Mr Naidu, who has been in political oblivion for almost a decade now.
But it is important for Mr Modi to establish that he can bring new allies into the National Democratic Alliance fold to balance the loss of key partner Janata Dal United on his account. Nitish Kumar's JD(U) dumped the BJP in June this year because the party appointed Mr Modi its campaign chief.
(Over and Done. Nitish Kumar's JD(U) splits with BJP)Chandrababu Naidu met BJP president Rajnath Singh last weekend and said, "I am not ruling out anything." In 1999, when a pro- BJP wave was witnessed post the Kargil war, Mr Naidu benefited from a tie-up with the national party.
Once the convenor of the NDA, Mr Naidu quit the alliance after the 2004 general elections, effectively blaming the 2002 Gujarat riots for his party's dismal performance.
Political rivals accuse the Gujarat Chief Minister of being a divisive leader who failed to prevent the 2002 communal riots in his state, which killed hundreds of Muslims under his watch.