BJP, TDP, Jana Sena seal alliance for 2024 Lok Sabha, AP elections

Amaravati: Telugu Desam Party, Jana Sena, and the BJP have finalised their alliance for the upcoming 2024 for Lok Sabha elections and Andhra Pradesh Assemblyelections. On Saturday, the three parties jointly issued an official statement cementing the alliance.

The Lok Sabha and Assembly polls will be held simultaneously in Andhra Pradesh.

The modalities of seat sharing will be deliberated in another two days. Though Naidu did not specify the number of seats each party in the alliance will contest, sources said the BJP and the Jana Sena may together contest around eight Lok Sabha and 30 Assembly seats. The TDP is likely to field candidates from the remaining 17 Lok Sabha and 145 Assembly seats.

The trio has decided to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections together in Andhra Pradesh.

PM Modi to attend public meeting in AP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend TDP and Jana Sena public meeting which will be held on March 17 in Chilakaluripet in Palnadu district. Incidentally, the Congress has also planned a rally in Mumbai on the same day to mark the end of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

On Saturday, TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu held talks with party members to choose a suitable place for the meeting.

“In five years, Jagan Mohan Reddy has bankrupted the state. In the current situation, we decided to work with the Centre. We have formed an alliance focusing on the interests of the state,” said Naidu.

Sources said that he has asked some of the leaders not to be disappointed if they did not get a seat.

History of alliances

The BJP and TDP go way back in fighting polls together. The TDP joined NDA in 1996 and has worked together successfully in Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi governments. In 2014, the TDP and the BJP fought the Lok Sabha election and Assembly elections together. The JSP gave its support during the 2014 General and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh.

While the TDP and BJP had been allies earlier, Naidu broke the tie-up in 2018, citing the failure of the Centre to give Andhra Pradesh special category status as a reason.

Reacting on this political development, Andhra Pradesh Congress chief YS Sharmila questioned why Naidu decided for this alliance. "We have seen Chandrababu's rule in the past. In the past, BJP and TDP had an alliance for five years. But what did they give to the people of Andhra Pradesh," stated Sharmila.