In a significant development ahead of the simultaneous assembly elections and Lok Sabha in Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Party, headed by N Chandrababu Naidu, and actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party on Saturday jointly unveiled the first list of candidates as per the seat-sharing formula firmed up by the two parties.
Of the total of 175 seats in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the TDP-JSP Combine announced seat-sharing for 118 constituencies in its first official list. This has allowed the partners to make space for BJP if it decides to officially join forces. There is still suspense over the saffron party joining the alliance.
As per the first list comprising 118 seats, TDP will contest from 94 seats and Jana Sena from 24 seats. Out of 25 Parliamentary seats in AP, the JSP is set to contest in three, and the rest will be held by TDP while keeping the option open for BJP.
Referring to the alliance with BJP, both the party chiefs’ said that if and when the alliance moves forward, the decision will be taken after discussions, keeping in mind people’s welfare.
Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan further said, “Keeping in view the possible alliance with BJP, Jana Sena chose to contest from only 24 assembly constituencies. Instead of being greedy for the seats, we are aiming for a 98 percent strike rate.”
Out of the agreed seats, the first round on Saturday saw the TDP announcing 94 candidates and Jana Sena unveiling 5 candidates.
Both the parties are convinced that a combined opposition alone will ensure defeat of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the coming elections. The negotiations for a tripartite alliance between TDP, Jana Sena, and BJP are ongoing, potentially impacting the remaining seats and the overall electoral landscape.
While Chandrababu Naidu is seeking re-election from Kuppam assembly constituency in Chittoor district, Pawan Kalyan is yet to announce his choice.
In 2019, Jagan’s YSR Congress Party swept the elections, bagging 151 seats in the 175-member Assembly and 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats while the TDP could win only 23 Assembly and three LS seats in the state.
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