As Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu is in Delhi to hold talks with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party to finalise the alliance issue, speculations are rife over what the BJP would ask him for contesting the upcoming assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh.
According to reports from New Delhi, the BJP has given positive signals to the TDP president on joining the TDP-Jana Sena alliance.
“Naidu would also explain his predicament on allotting the number of seats the BJP might ask as part of the alliance, as he is already under pressure from his own party leaders,” a media source in New Delhi said.
A senior TDP leader said according to the indications from the BJP top leadership, the saffron party is not keen on seeking more assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh.
“It might be okay if the BJP is allotted half a dozen MLA seats or even less,” he said.
But what the BJP national leaders might ask Naidu is at least five Lok Sabha seats, as the saffron party is more interested in increasing its tally at the national level, rather than making its present felt in states like Andhra Pradesh.
The BJP is aiming for winning at least 370 Lok Sabha seats in the coming Lok Sabha elections on its own, instead of depending on the alliance partners to form the government at the Centre.
“But with regional parties dominating several states in different parts of India, it might not be possible for the BJP to achieve its goal. So, it has to win at least some seats in the South where it has little presence. In 2019, it could win only 29 seats in the South. This time, it wants to improve the figure,” a source said.
For Naidu, too, there might not be much objection in allotting five Lok Sabha seats to the BJP, because after facing a bitter experience in the past, he doesn’t have much interest in national politics now.
Even if he gives five seats to the BJP and 2-3 seats to Jana Sena, the TDP will still be left with 18 Lok Sabha seats to contest. If it can win at least a dozen seats with the support of the BJP and the Jana Sena, it would be comfortable for Naidu.
Since most of the competition within the TDP leaders is mostly for the assembly seats and not many leaders are interested in Lok Sabha seats, the TDP chief might accommodate the demands of the BJP, sources added.