For the 73-year-old N. Chandrababu Naidu, who has headed the TDP for three decades and has been chief minister longer than anyone, the 2024 polls, by own admission, will be his last. Sensing that the TDP may not be able to triumph on its own, Naidu has joined a tripartite alliance. On March 9, it finally reached an agreement on contesting the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state, with six seats to the BJP and two to the JSP (the stalemate was
broken after two rounds of talks with JSP founder and actor Pawan Kalyan conceding a seat to the saffron party in the interests of a combined fight).
For the assembly election happening alongside, the TDP will contest 144 seats, JSP 21 and the BJP 10 in the 175-member house. Calling it a win-win scenario, Naidu forecasts a clean sweep for the alliance. The TDP has, over the past two years, been keen to position itself alongside the BJP as a check on the ruling YSRCP. This, despite suspicions that the YSRCP has had the covert blessings of the saffron party for the past five years.
This story is from the March 25, 2024 edition of India Today.
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This story is from the March 25, 2024 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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