8 Lok Sabha, 30 Assembly seats: TDP’s counter-offer to break logjam with BJP

The TDP is ready to increase its offer and give the BJP 8 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh as part of an alliance, on the condition that the national party share seats from its kitty with the third partner, JanaSena Party (JSP).

For the Assembly polls to be held simultaneously, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is believed to be willing to give 30 Assembly seats in all to the two parties.

Talks have been going on between leaders of the three parties for several days, and resumed on Friday. The BJP side was represented by Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Nadda, with Naidu and actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan representing their parties.

VIDEO | Visuals of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu leaving from Union Home Minister Amit Shah's New Delhi residence. pic.twitter.com/zsr2ZkweS2

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On the specific seats the parties would contest, sources said the BJP wants Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituencies, though the TDP has already planned high-profile candidates for the same. The BJP’s choices are said to be its Rajya Sabha MP G V L Narasimha Rao from Visakhapatnam, and either Y S Sujana Chowdary or CM Ramesh from Vijayawada.

The discussions were earlier stuck as Naidu did not want to part with more than 4-5 seats for the BJP out of 25 in the Lok Sabha. He was also said to be ready to give the BJP only 15 Assembly seats out of 175, though there he was willing to show more flexibility.

Having set a target of 370 for itself for the Lok Sabha, the BJP wants to contest as many seats as possible on its own symbol. But it has been