VIJAYAWADA: After prolonged deliberations, the tripartite alliance between the TDP, JSP and BJP was officially finalised on Saturday.
A joint statement released in the evening by BJP national president JP Nadda, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and JSP chief Pawan Kalyan said, “Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP, the TDP and the JSP, as being committed for the progress of the country and the upliftment of State and people of Andhra Pradesh, have decided to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections together in Andhra Pradesh.”
However, the parties are yet to reveal details of the sharing of seats. According to the joint statement, announcement regarding the seat-sharing would be out in a day or two.
Highlighting the relationship that the BJP and TDP share, the statement read, “TDP joined the NDA in 1996 and has worked together successfully in Atal Ji and Narendra Modi Ji’s governments. In 2014, the TDP and the BJP fought the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together.”
It may be pertinent to note that the JSP, too, had supported both the parties in 2014.
Naidu and Pawan landed in New Delhi on Thursday and held two rounds of talks with the BJP leadership in three days. As reported earlier by this newspaper, TDP is likely to concede 30 Assembly and eight Lok Sabha seats to its alliance partners. It has also been learnt that the JSP, which was earlier allotted three Lok Sabha constituencies, might have to let go of one seat. Sources also said JSP chief Pawan Kalyan is likely to contest the Kakinada MP seat.
Anakapalle, which was given to the JSP earlier, ST-reserved Araku, Rajampet, Rajahmundry, Eluru and either Hindupur or Tirupati Lok Sabha seats are likely to be allotted to the saffron party. According to sources, the seat-sharing talks between the parties hit a roadblock over the crucial Vizag and Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituencies.
As the TDP is unlikely to concede the Vijayawada MP seat, former Rajya Sabha member Sujana Chowdary might be fielded from Eluru, while another former RS MP CM Ramesh might contest from Anakapalle instead of Vizag. BJP State unit chief D Purandeswari is likely to enter the poll fray from Rajahmundry, while national leader Y Satya Kumar or religious seer Swami Paripoornananda Swamy may be fielded from Hindupur.
Former chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh N Kiran Kumar Reddy is expected to contest the Rajampet seat and former MP Kothapalli Geetha could be the imminent pick from Araku. Additionally, the BJP is likely to contest the Araku Assembly seat, apart from Visakhapatnam North, Dharmavaram in Anantapur district, Kaikalur and Srikalahasthi seats, sources said.
Following the announcement of the alliance, the TDP supremo interacted with party leaders for the second consecutive day and urged them not to feel dejected, if they have lost the opportunity to contest the elections owing to the alliance.
He held a video conference with senior leaders and elaborated on the reasons necessitating the alliance in the State. He told them that the support of the Centre is imminent to bring the State on the right path.
Pawan Kalyan likely to contest Kakinada LS seat
Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan is likely to contest from the Kakinada parliamentary seat and also to the State Assembly. According to sources, the BJP national leadership, which held talks with the TDP and the JSP twice in the past three days to strike an electoral alliance, has suggested Pawan Kalyan to contest from the Kakinada Lok Sabha seat. He is likely to be inducted into the Union Cabinet if the NDA retains power.
Pawan Kalyan unsuccessfully contested from Bhimavaram and Gajuwaka Assembly seats in the 2019 elections, while his brother K Nagababu lost from Narasapur Lok Sabha constituency.
Pawan Kalyan seems to be weighing various options to contest the ensuing Assembly elections and the party has conducted surveys in constituencies like Tirupati, Kakinada and others. He is said to be found Pithapuram as the safe bet. Shifting Pawan Kalyan to Parliament will also pave the way for the smooth running of the coalition government in the State, if the TDP-BJP-JSP alliance comes to power, sources said.
Former Pithapuram TDP MLA SVSN Varma, who aspired the ticket, had even raised strong objection to the proposal to concede the segment to the JSP as part of the seat sharing agreement and told the leadership that he would not extend his support to the JSP or Pawan Kalyan. At a time when the TDP was finding it difficult to convince Varma as his support is vital for the victory of Pawan Kalyan from Pithapuram, the reports that the JSP chief may contest from the Kakinada Lok Sabha seat, came as a breather for Varma.
It is learnt that soon after Pawan Kalyan has been asked to contest the Kakinada Lok Sabha seat, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu called up Varma and reportedly asked him to get ready to contest the elections. The YSRC had even mulled roping in Kapu patriarch Mudragada Padmanabham to pitch against Pawan Kalyan and make it difficult for the latter to win the Pithapuram seat.
On the other hand, Kakinada is a stronghold of the Kapu community as it has a strong presence in three of the seven Assembly constituencies under it. The community also has a good say in other four constituencies.
Prominent winners from the Kakinada Lok Sabha constituency include Mudragada, Thota Narasimham, MM Pallam Raju and sitting YSRC MP Vanga Geetha, all belonging to the Kapu community. Former Union minister UV Krishnam Raju was the only non-Kapu leader to have won the seat.
During his tour of districts, Pawan Kalyan visited Kakinada several times and is said to have assessed the strength of the party in the seven Assembly segments that come under the purview of Kakinada Lok Sabha constituency.
