The opposition TDP is set to contest 144 Assembly seats in the state in alliance with the Jana Sena and the BJP. The seat sharing was finalised at a meeting held among the three parties at Chandrababu Naidu’s residence the other day.
BJP senior leader and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan held prolonged discussions over the seat sharing. The discussions were held for almost 8 hours among the three leaders, assisted by their respective party leaders.
The Jana Sena had come down to 21 seats from the initial number of 24 seats. The TDP had initially given 24 seats to the Jana Sena. However, after the Monday’s talks, the party had come down to 21 seats, leaving three seats to the BJP.
The bargain with the BJP started at six seats and it finally concluded at 10 seats. The BJP is said to have insisted upon contesting double digit numbers and accordingly settled down at 10 seats. While the Jana Sena had given three seats, the TDP had given one seat to the BJP, reducing its strength to 144 seats.
TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu had sought to advise the Jana Sena and the BJP leaders to ensure that better candidates are fielded in their constituencies to defeat the ruling YSR Congress candidates. He said that his party is ready to assist both the Jana Sena and the BJP in selecting the candidates for the seats given to them.
The Jana Sena made a big sacrifice by giving up three seats for the BJP. Though the Jana Sena activists were not happy with the party taking just 24 seats initially, the Jana Sena chief had made a big sacrifice by further bringing down the number.
Pawan Kalyan is committed to the defeat of the YSR Congress and had said that he would be ready for any sort of sacrifice to ensure the defeat of the YSR Congress. Accordingly, he made the big sacrifice by losing three seats to the BJP.
Pawan Kalyan is expected to explain the reasons for giving up three seats to the BJP and is said to be pacifying the angry party workers. The party rank and file are not happy with the 24 seats. Now, Pawan Kalyan has further brought down the number. It is to be seen how the Jana Sena activists would react to this decision.
