Andhra Pradesh Assembly Election: TDP, JanaSena announce first joint list of 118 seats — Room left for BJP?

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the JanaSena Party (JSP) released the first list of 118 seats on Saturday for the forthcoming Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh. Of these 118 candidates in the first list, 94 are from the TDP, while the Jana Sena will be contesting in 24 seats.

Observing that the TDP-JanaSena alliance "has the blessings of the BJP", Kalyan read out the names of five JanaSena candidates and promised to reveal the remaining 19 names in a couple of days. The TDP's list had names of 99 candidates of 118.

Twenty-three of 94 candidates on TDP’s list are newcomers. said 23 are first-timers, three doctors, one retired IAS officer, 25 post-graduates, 51 graduates and three doctorates.

Naidu and, however, said the seat allocation has been done keeping in mind the "need to accommodate" Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in case the saffron party decides to join the alliance.

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"On this auspicious occasion, both are ready to go for the polls. I wish this news to be good tidings for everyone in the state. This union is for the future of the state. This is the first step for a great effort," Naidu was quoted by PTI as addressing a press conference at his Andhra Pradesh residence in Undavalli on the TDP-JanaSena alliance.

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Explaining the rationale behind the JanaSena taking only 24 seats, Kalyan noted that it is important to take a lower number of seats than experimenting with a higher number of seats.

"We have to first put the state on the right track, keeping the future of the state ahead of individual and party prospects," said the actor-politician.

Including the three Lok Sabha seats allocated for JanaSena in the alliance, he noted that it is as good as the party contesting some 40 Assembly seats.

Mea