Today in Politics: PM Modi to campaign in Andhra Pradesh for simultaneous Lok Sabha, Assembly polls

With polling completed in 283 Lok Sabha seats across three phases, parties and politicians are now turning their focus on the 96 seats in 10 states and UTs that will vote in the next phase on May 13.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will continue the BJP’s southern push with campaign events in Andhra Pradesh, where the party has tied up with former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and actor-politician K Pawan Kalyan’s JanaSena Party (JSP).

The PM will address three rallies – in Karimnagar, Warangal and Rajampet – and attend a roadshow in Vijayawada on Wednesday. He will also visit the Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Temple in Karimnagar.

While the BJP’s presence in Andhra Pradesh is limited – it contested all 25 Lok Sabha seats and won none in 2019 – its allies too struggled last time, with the TDP winning just three seats and the JSP failing to win any. In the 175-member Assembly, the TDP, JSP and BJP won 23, 1 and 0 seats in 2019, with the ruling YSR Congress Party winning 151 seats in addition to 22 Lok Sabha seats.

As part of a seat-sharing deal among the NDA partners, the TDP was allocated 144 Assembly and 17 Lok Sabha constituencies while the BJP is contesting from six Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats. The JSP is contesting from two Lok Sabha and 21 Assembly seats.

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. With the TDP struggling in the state since then, Naidu had been trying to claw his way back into the NDA camp. The BJP is hoping to tap into the support bases of the TDP and JSP to take on the dominant YSRCP, the BJP gives Naidu the security of a strong