Chandrababu Naidu eyes Seemandhra top job after BJP deal

HYDERABAD: The seat sharing arrangement between the BJP and TDP in Andhra Pradesh was finalized on Thursday with an official announcement expected early next week. According to the deal, sources said, the BJP would contest eight out of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana and between four and five parliamentary seats out of 25 in Seemandhra. The TDP will contest from the remaining seats in both the regions.

Asserting that an announcement about the alliance will be made in New Delhi by senior BJP leaders in the presence of TDP boss Chandrababu Naidu next week, sources said both BJP's prime ministerial candidate and Naidu will share the stage at a public meeting in Seemandhra soon. The slogan for the rally, it is learnt, will be "Modi for PM, Naidu for CM".

TDP sources said Naidu expects the alliance to win 30 Lok Sabha seats from the two regions of the state, with the larger chunk of course coming from Seemandhra.

"The date for the public meeting has not yet been finalized, but it will definitely take place in March," said TDP Rajya Sabha member CM Ramesh.

The last time - which was also the only occasion — Naidu and Modi have shared a dais publicly was at a "youth mela" in Delhi on October 2 last year, which first triggered speculation about the alliance. But later there was a brief lull after the BJP supported the Telangana Bill, with Naidu miffed with the saffron party's stand.

The TDP chief was to address a meeting in Krishna district on March 17 as part of his Praja Garjana programme, but in view of the grand alliance with the BJP, he decided to drop it so that the focus can be on the Modi-Naidu meeting. It is expected that Modi will make promises for the development of Seemandhra in that meeting.

Seemandhra remains Naidu's forte where he was in straight face-off with YSR Congress.

For the assembly, the TDP has agreed to give the BJP 15 out of the 175 seats in Seemandhra and 25 of the 119 seats in Telangana. With the numbers finalised, all that remains choosing the seats where the BJP will put up its nominees, TDP sources said. Naidu wants to become the convenor of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), but the BJP is yet to take a final call on it, they added.