THE BJP sealed its alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Saturday for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, with former Chief Minister of the southern State N Chandrababu Naidu asserting that the combine will sweep the polls. The alliance was formalised after the two parties and actor Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP) held another round of talks involving Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief J P Nadda, besides Naidu and Kalyan. A joint statement issued by the three parties said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “dynamic and visionary” leadership, they have decided to contest the Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls together as they are committed to ensuring the country’s progress and an uplift of the state and its people.

 

“We hope that the alliance will come up to the expectation of the people of Andhra Pradesh with their wholehearted support,” Nadda, Naidu and Kalyan said in the statement. The seat-sharing modalities for the 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats in the State would be deliberated in a day or two, the statement said. TDP President Naidu told a group of reporters after the finalisation of the alliance talks that Andhra Pradesh and its brand have been “destroyed” by the State’s ruling YSR Congress Party as he lashed out at Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for “pushing the state backward” while the country is progressing. “Our alliance will sweep the polls,” Naidu asserted.

 

The Lok Sabha and Assembly polls will be held simultaneously in Andhra Pradesh. “Andhra Pradesh has been destroyed badly. Its brand has been destroyed. The BJP and the TDP coming together is a win-win situation for the country and the State,” Naidu said. Lauding Modi’s leadership, he said several good things are happening in the country but Andhra Pradesh is going backward. While wealth creation is a top priority for Modi, “wealth destruction” is the top priority for the YSR Congress, Naidu alleged.