TDP and BJP may declare tie-up today

NEW DELHI: The seats of Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Rajahmundry remain the bone of contention between the BJP and the TDP even as leaders on both sides said the two parties were likely to announce a tie-up on Friday. The announcement had earlier been scheduled for Thursday, to coincide with BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi’s presence in Delhi for rallies in the neighbourhood.

BJP’s in-charge for Telangana, Prakash Javadekar said that while the talks were progressing, the “announcement will have to wait”. The BJP is seeking to contest 14 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and about 70 seats in the 294-member Andhra Pradesh assembly, people familiar with the matter said, adding that the party was likely to get eight Lok Sabha seats out of 17 in Telangana region and five out of 25 in AP, comprising of the residual Seemandhra, Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra regions.

In the state assembly, BJP is likely to get 40 seats in the 119-member Telangana and about 15 seats in the 175-member residual Andhra Pradesh. “The BJP has specifically asked for Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kakinada, Narsapur, Tirupati and Rajahmundry Lok Sabha seats in Seemandhra and Chevella, Mahbubnagar and Malkajgiri among others in Telangana. However, the TDP is not willing to part with them,” said a leader involved in the negotiations.

TDP leaders who had arrived in Delhi on Tuesday for meetings with BJP leader Arun Jaitley had skipped the meeting and had hardened their position after a TV survey showed the party was gaining strength in Seemandhra, the leader said.