BJP does a quick deal with TDP, prevents alliance breakdown

mangaloretoday.com/ India Today

Hyderabad, April 18: The BJP has agreed to surrender five Assembly constituencies earlier allotted to it by the Telugu Desam Party.

This means the saffron party will contest only nine out of 175 Assembly seats in Seemandhra as per the provisions of a pre-poll alliance with the TDP.

According to sources, the BJP will contest five Lok Sabha seats in Seemandhra.

 

Earlier in the day, senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar held a three-hour-long meeting with TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu to solve the stalemate over seat sharing for the Assembly elections which are simultaneously being held along with the Lok Sabha polls.

"Alliance is there. There is no issue," Javadekar said after coming out of the meeting.

However, Naidu refused to comment anything and left for Krishna district to campaign.

It may be recalled that TDP chief  Chandrababu Naidu expressed serious displeasure over the choice of candidates by the BJP in certain Assembly constituencies allotted to it.

"If they put up such weak candidates, it will only benefit the rival parties and weaken the alliance. It will also impact our prospects in the Lok Sabha elections," Chandrababu said in election meetings in Vizianagaram district of the state on Thursday.