BJP-TDP on the cusp of a poll deal, announcement likely after another round of talks tonight

The BJP is on the verge of striking an electoral deal with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena Party (JSP) in Andhra Pradesh and taking a major stride towards bringing back one of its former allies to the NDA fold.

TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and JSP chief Pawan Kalyan are awaiting another round of discussion with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda on Friday night. They are expected to discuss the number of Lok Sabha seats that each side wants to contest, sources said. Naidu, according to insiders, is ready to give the BJP four to five seats of Andhra Pradesh’s 25 Lok Sabha seats while the latter is bargaining for nine. For the Assembly elections, which will be held simultaneously, the BJP initially demanded 15 but could make some compromises. But for the Lok Sabha polls, it is insisting on more Lok Sabha seats as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the party a target of winning 370 seats. For the NDA as a whole, the target is winning 400-plus seats.

A source in the TDP said Naidu does not want to completely give away the party’s stake in the Lok Sabha as “he thinks it is very important to have a respectable number of seats in the Lower House of Parliament” for the stability of the alliance. A BJP functionary said the party was keen to get its erstwhile partner back in the NDA as well as “increase the number of candidates who contest and win on the lotus symbol”.

Naidu, Pawan Kalyan, and the BJP leadership held discussions past midnight on Wednesday too. “The agreement is more or less done. But a formal announcement will be after the final round of talks today,” said a source.

The TDP broke its alliance with the BJP in 2018 over Andhra Pradesh not receiving special category status