In a significant political development hinting at a potential collaboration, TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu held discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J P Nadda on Thursday evening. The meetings focused on the prospects of forming an alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections. Jana Sena Party leader Pawan Kalyan also participated in the discussions, which included talks on a seat-sharing arrangement.
Naidu, who flew to Delhi from Hyderabad earlier that day, is engaging in talks with the BJP leadership for the second time in recent weeks, according to TDP national spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagar, who anticipates an official announcement on the alliance shortly. The development comes amid growing indications that the BJP and the Biju Janata Dal, which is in power in Odisha, are on the verge of finalising their alliance as senior leaders of the two parties held separate meetings on Wednesday and dropped hints of such a possibility. The engagement is critical for finalizing the alliance details due to the approaching election notification, with TDP willing to allocate 5-6 Lok Sabha and about 15 Assembly seats to the BJP. Andhra Pradesh has a total of 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha constituencies. The TDP is also aligned with the JSP, having recently announced their first batch of 99 candidates for the Assembly elections, wherein the JSP will contest 24 Assembly seats and three Lok Sabha seats.
What has complicated matters for the BJP is that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, the president of the YSR Congress, has been unambiguously supportive of the Modi government’s agenda in Parliament and shares a good personal rapport with its senior leaders.
The BJP has been working to expand the NDA for some time as it eyes a bigger victory in the Lok Sabha polls, expected in April-May.
With the ruling party eyeing a third term under PM Modi and having set a target for winning 370 seats on its own and 400 with allies, there is a view within the BJP that joining hands with regional parties positively disposed to its agenda will be helpful.
