HYDERABAD: The TDP is all set to return to the BJP-led NDA as soon as next week. Highly-placed sources confirmed to TNIE that seat-sharing talks have more or less been finalised, at least the broad contours, for the ensuing Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The development comes just about 10 days after TDP chief and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu held talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
“The announcement may be made on February 20 or 21. There is no bad blood between the TDP and the BJP. Naidu explained to Shah the circumstances that prompted him to break away from the NDA ahead of the 2019 elections,” the sources said.
As part of the alliance, the TDP may concede 30 Assembly and 10 Lok Sabha seats to the BJP-Jana Sena combine. “Of the 30 Assembly seats, BJP may contest 5-10 and leave the rest to Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena. But in the Lok Sabha polls, BJP is likely to contest seven seats and leave three for its partner,” sources revealed.
The Jana Sena, headed by film star Pawan Kalyan, is expecting to open its account this time and put up a much better show than last time when it ended up with just one seat. It also hopes that its vote-share would improve from the 5.5 per cent it recorded last time.
As per the information available, BJP is likely to field YSRC rebel MP K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju from Narasapuram, party State chief D Purandeswari from Rajamahendravaram, former chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy from Rajampet and senior leader Satyakumar from either Hindupur or Anantapur.
From Jana Sena, S Satish is likely to contest from Kakinada and Vallabhaneni Balashowry from Machilipatnam. Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan’s brother Naga Babu may contest from Anakapalle, while the former is likely to contest for the Assembly from Bhimavaram. Tirupati, too, is not off the table, the sources added.
The formal announcement of the alliance will come after the BJP’s national convention scheduled to be held on February 17 to 18. It is learnt that before Naidu’s meeting with Shah, a senior TDP leader had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi who advised him to discuss alliance matter with the Union Home Minister. It was after the senior leader’s talks with Shah that a call went to Naidu to come to Delhi.
If the seat-sharing goes smoothly, the TDP will be upbeat about coming back to power. Naidu had won twice in alliance with the BJP, once during the Vajpayee era and next in 2014. The TDP-BJP-Jana Sena alliance was waiting to happen ever since Pawan Kalyan intensified efforts to ensure that the ‘opposition vote isn’t split’.
YSRC president and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will have a tough task on his hands facing the formidable alliance on the one side and a hopeful Congress with his own sister YS Sharmila training her guns on him on the other side.
Lok Sabha elections are likely to be held in April first week if indications from BJP leaders are anything to go by.