Lok Sabha Elections 2024: How Chandrababu Naidu convinced BJP?
The BJP and TDP have reached a seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh after negotiations. TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to finalize the alliance, aiming for a clean sweep in the polls
FollowThe Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have reached an agreement for a seat-sharing arrangement ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh, after two days of negotiations. The deal was sealed after TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence on Saturday morning and finalized the composition of the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance.
Confirming the alliance, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu informed reporters on Saturday, "BJP, TDP, and Jana Sena have come to an understanding for an alliance in the polls ... Andhra Pradesh has been badly affected. The coming together of BJP and TDP is a win-win situation for the country and the state." He expressed confidence that the alliance would secure a "clean sweep" in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh assembly polls.
How Chandrababu Naidu cracked the deal
According to sources, the BJP high command has agreed to Naidu's proposal on seat sharing. Naidu offered 30 assembly and 8 Lok Sabha seats to his partners. Jana Sena will contest for 24 assembly and 3 Lok Sabha seats, leaving the BJP with 5 Lok Sabha and 6 assembly seats.
Initially, the state BJP unit had proposed 25 assembly and 10 Lok Sabha seats. However, Naidu explained during Thursday night's meeting that a higher number of seats for the BJP would undermine the alliance's purpose, making it challenging to manage dissent and ensure effective vote transfer among the three parties.
Following the inconclusive meeting on Thursday night, Naidu and Pawan stayed back to provide a detailed explanation of the proposed seat-sharing arrangement to the BJP high command. Naidu successfully convinced the BJP leadership on the allocation of 30 MLA and 8 MP seats for the alliance partners. On Saturday morning, Naidu and Pawan met Amit Shah again to finalize the deal.
A formal announcement regarding the TDP's inclusion in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is expected soon from the office of J.P. Nadda. Minor adjustments may be made to the initial understanding of constituency allocations, as the numbers have now been finalized, according to sources.
