At last, the Bharatiya Janata Party is understood to have given green signal to the Telugu Desam Party to join the National Democratic Alliance and forge an alliance with the party for the upcoming elections in Andhra Pradesh.
According to reports in New Delhi, TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu will fly to New Delhi on March 4 and formally announce his party joining the NDA on March 5.
“Since the election schedule will be announced on March 12 or 13, the BJP national leadership has decided to finalise the candidates’ selection in Andhra Pradesh by joining the TDP-Jana Sena alliance,” the reports said.
Sources said the TDP has finally agreed to allot 7 Lok Sabha seats to the BJP, apart from a dozen assembly seats.
The BJP initially insisted on eight MP seats and 18 assembly seats, but it has finally scaled down its demand after watching the seat-sharing agreement between the TDP and Jana Sena.
“An announcement to this effect is likely to be made in a day or two. After the agreement is finalised, the TDP will formally join the NDA on March 5,” sources from New Delhi said.
There are indications that the BJP might ask for some of the seats for which the TDP and Jana Sena Party have already finalised their candidates. So, there is a possibility of Naidu and Pawan making small changes in the already announced lists, sources said.
The BJP has also asked for a share in the Chandrababu Naidu government, if the alliance comes to power.
According to the reports, Naidu agreed to allot Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Narsapuram, Eluru, Tirupati, Rajampet and Hindupur Lok Sabha seats to the BJP.
Among the assembly seats, the BJP might get Visakhapatnam (north), Tadepalligudem, Kaikaluru, Guntur (West), Jammalamadugu, Dharmavaram and Rajahmundry (city), besides one seat each in Nellore and Kurnool.
