In a major political development with regard to Andhra Pradesh, aheada of general elections, after a gap of six years the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is set to return the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Following hectic political discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda in the national capital New Delhi for over two days, the BJP sealed their alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and Andhra Pradesh Assembly election on Saturday.
Both TDP chief and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan were present in these discussions. They come to an agreement on the number of seats each party to contest in the state. This will certainly paralise the efforts of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, chief of YSRCP to return back in the elections and also claiming of targetting to win all 175 assembly seats,
TDP president Naidu told a group of reporters following the talks that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Jana Sena Party, led by actor Pawan Kalyan, and his party have arrived at an understanding for an alliance for the elections likely to be held in April-May, expressing confidence that together, they will sweep the polls.
The Lok Sabha and Assembly polls will be held simultaneously in Andhra Pradesh. Lashing out at the state’s ruling YSR Congress Party and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Naidu said, “Andhra Pradesh has been destroyed badly. The BJP and the TDP coming together is a win-win situation for the country and the state.”
Though none of the these three parties – BJP, TDP and Jana Sena specify the number of seats wach party in the alliance will contest, sources close to these parties confirmed seats arrangement.
According to those sources, the BJP and the Jana Sena may together contest around eight Lok Sabha and 30 Assembly seats. The TDP is likely to field candidates from the remaining 17 Lok Sabha and 145 Assembly seats.
The BJP, which is eying to boost its Lok Sabha tally, may contest six parliamentary and as many Assembly seats in the southern state. The two-term former chief minister played down his past differences with the BJP, asserting that having the same alliance in governments at the Centre and in the state will be a big boost for Andhra Pradesh.
The TDP exited the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2018 after its demand that the Centre should grant special category status to the southern state was not met. The BJP has maintained that its government at the Centre has been fulfilling all the commitments made to Andhra Pradesh.
