BJP, TDP of Chandrababu Naidu finalize Lok Sabha, Andhra Pradesh polls seats

New Delhi:

The Bharatiya Janata Party, N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena have finalized their seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections later tonight. The BJP will contest 6 Lok Sabha seats and 10 Assembly seats, the People’s Democratic Party will contest 17 Lok Sabha seats and 144 Assembly seats, while the Jana Sena will contest 2 Lok Sabha seats and 21 Assembly seats. Andhra Pradesh has 25 Lok Sabha seats and 175 Assembly seats, which will be contested simultaneously.

According to sources, the BJP will contest seats in the assembly elections from Araku, Rajahmundry, Anakapal, Tirupati, Narasapuram and one more seat, while Jana Sena The Assembly elections will be contested in Machilipatnam and Kakinada.

The announcement came after senior BJP leaders, including Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, on Monday finalized candidates along with Naidu and Kalyan.

Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda had announced on March 9 that the party had entered into an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party and the Jana Sena. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Party (JSP), committed to the progress of the country and the progress of the state and people of Andhra Pradesh, have decided to jointly contest the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, ” said a joint statement issued by TDP, BJP and Janata Party.

The TDP was part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance until 2018 and the party has expressed interest in reviving the alliance after suffering a heavy defeat in the 2019 elections. Mr Naidu’s party withdrew from the NDA over its financial support to Andhra Pradesh. “I have taken this decision not out of selfishness but in the interest of Andhra Pradesh. In four years, I tried my best, went to Delhi 29 times and made inquiries many times. This is the last budget of the Center and no mention was made of it. and Andhra Pradesh,” Mr Naidu later explained his decision.

A joint statement issued by both parties emphasized their “old relationship.” “BJP and PDP have a very long-standing partnership. The BJP joined the NDA in 1996 and worked successfully together in the governments led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi, “it says.

The report added that in 2014, the TDP contested the Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections together with the BJP, while the JSP supported both parties.

Yesterday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy said he was ready to fight the alliance and claimed that Chandrababu Naidu’s cycle was “rusty and he was seeking support from other parties” .

Lok Sabha elections are expected to be held in April-May, with the ruling People’s Party, which is considering a third term in office, setting a target of winning 370 seats for itself and 400 with its allies.