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New Delhi: While Union home minister Amit Shah has announced that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be brought in 21 National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-ruled states by 2029, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s two key allies – the Janata Dal (United) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) – have struck a cautious note.

After falling short of a majority on its own in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and winning 240 seats, the BJP is reliant on its two allies – the JD(U) with 12 seats and TDP with 16 seats in the Lok Sabha. With sizeable Muslim populations in both Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, the two parties however, have not openly supported a call for UCC.

While the TDP has said that supporting the UCC is an option, it has not openly embraced the home minister’s call.

“Supporting it is an option, but as of now, there has been no discussion on it. If we feel the need to pursue it, we will certainly look into it and consult all relevant stakeholders before taking any decision,” TDP MP Lavu Krishna Devarayalu, who is also the party’s floor leader in the Lok Sabha, told The Wire.

Prior to joining the NDA following the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, the TDP had opposed any move to bring in the UCC. In July 2023, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had said........

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