Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, who have entered into an electoral alliance for the upcoming elections in Andhra Pradesh, are in a strange dilemma: whether to wait for the Bharatiya Janata Party to join their alliance or go ahead with their own lists of candidates.
Naidu and Pawan, who had already announced their first list of 99 candidates – 94 of the TDP and five of Jana Sena for the assembly elections, are now ready with their second list of candidates.
The TDP has left 24 out of 175 Assembly and three out of 25 Lok Sabha seats for Jana Sena.
According to sources, the TDP is ready to release its second list of another 30 candidates, while Jana Sena’s second list has 10 candidates, including that of Pawan Kalyan.
“The lists have been finalised after the Jai Ho BC rally on Tuesday night,” sources said.
On Wednesday, Pawan Kalyan came down to the Undavalli residence of Naidu and they were expected to announce their respective second lists.
However, they got the information that BJP state president Daggubati Purandeshwari is rushing to New Delhi in the afternoon to finalise the strategy with her party’s national leadership.
Apparently, Purandeshwari reportedly asked Naidu and Pawan to wait for some more time, as there is a possibility of BJP national leadership calling either of them or both together to Delhi to finalise the alliance issue.
But the TDP and Jana Sena supremos are of the view that they are running out of time, as there is hardly anytime left for the announcement of election schedule.
“The inordinate delay on the part of the BJP to decide its stand on Andhra Pradesh is causing confusion among the party cadres. So, they are wondering whether they should wait for the BJP to respond or go ahead with the announcement of candidates,” sources said.
