Lok Sabha elections 2024: Chandrababu Naidu to meet Amit Shah amid rumors of BJP-TDP alliance
The TDP was part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance but broke ties with the alliance in 2018 when Chandrababu Naidu was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Lok Sabha elections 2024: Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah amid speculations of a rumored alliance between the regional party and the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, which will be held simultaneously. in the southern state.
Quoting sources, a PTI report said the two leaders held talks on the possibility of an alliance between the two parties, who were also allies in the past. The TDP was part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance but broke ties with the alliance in 2018 when Naidu was Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Sources said both parties are open to joining hands but much will depend on whether they arrive at a mutually acceptable seat-sharing arrangement, the PTI report said.
However, the second meeting between Shah and Naidu in as many months has brightened the prospect of a BJP-TDP alliance.
The alliance needs to be fast-tracked: TDP leaders
TDP leaders said any further delay in forming an alliance would not be beneficial as elections are approaching and any continued ambiguity would confuse party workers and supporters.
Actor Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party, which has been a member of the NDA, has already joined hands with the TDP and urged the BJP to follow suit.
Kalyan also participated in the meeting with Shah. Earlier, Naidu met leaders, including MPs, of the TDP.
Share seats
Naidu had met Shah and BJP president JP Nadda in February, adding to speculation that they were moving towards an alliance, even if things have not crystallized so far.
Sources said both parties had differences over the number of seats the BJP would contest in the state where the BJP does not have much of a presence.
The state has 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats and the BJP is keen to contest eight to 10 parliamentary constituencies.
Sources in the TDP, however, said the BJP could contest five to six Lok Sabha seats in case of an alliance, the Jana Sena three and their party the rest.
YSR or TDP?
What has complicated matters for the BJP is that Prime Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, the YSR Congress president, has unequivocally supported the Modi government’s agenda in Parliament and shares a good personal rapport with its senior leaders.
The BJP has been working on expanding the NDA for some time as it expects a bigger victory in the Lok Sabha polls, expected in April-May.
The development comes amid mounting indications that the BJP and the Biju Janata Dal, which is in power in Odisha, are on the verge of finalizing their alliance as senior leaders of the two parties held separate meetings on Wednesday and hinted at dropped such an opportunity.
Now that the ruling party is eyeing a third term under Modi and has set a target of winning 370 seats on its own and 400 with allies, there is a view within the BJP that it will be useful to join hands with regional parties that are positive about its agenda.
(With PTI inputs)