Lok Sabha elections: Telangana may not prove beneficial to BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has finally succeeded in securing more seats from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the Telangana region and also some sizeable seats in Seemandhra. "It's almost 99 per cent through. The final deal will be sealed by senior leader Arun Jaitley, who is in charge of alliances," said a senior aide of BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.

The TDP finally climbed down as the Telengana Rashtirya Samiti (TRS) and the YSRC (YSR Congress) were giving it a tough fight in Telangana and Seemandhra, respectively.

While the BJP bargained for 9 Parliament and 50 assembly seats in Telangana, the TDP conceded 8 and 30-35. Telangana has 119 assembly and 17 Parliament seats.

In Seemandhra, the BJP wanted 5 Parliament and 25 assembly seats. The TDP is ready to offer only 3 and 15, respectively. Seemandhra has 175 assembly and 25 Parliament seats.

Javadekar was called in to pacify state BJP leader G Kishan Reddy, who was against the alliance. Senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu, a Kamma leader like Chandrababu Naidu, is leading the BJP in the talks, along with Arun Jaitely.

Commenting on the alliance, Chandrababu Naidu aide Y S Chowdhary (Rajya Sabha MP and TDP money bag) told reporters the "TDP- BJP alliance is a certainty as both need each other's support".

The manner in which the TDP is yielding to the BJP is an indication of the former's falling popularity. "The TDP is yielding to the BJP in Telangana as it has no chance of winning many seats against a strong TRS," said M Y Mysura Reddy, a former TDP MP.

The TDP is wary of an emerging Congress-TRS combine in Telangana and a Congress-YSRC combine in Seemandhra.

The other partners in the TDP- BJP alliance will be the Jana Sena Party of actor Pawan Kalyan and the Lok Satta Party of bureaucrat-turned politician, dubbed as Kejriwal, Jayaprakash Narayan.

But the TDP-BJP alliance will face stiff competition from TRS.

The bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and the emergence of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as a formidable political force in Seemandhra had prompted TDP and Chandrababu Naidu to join the saffron brigade.