NDA Partners Struggle for Seat-Sharing Agreement Ahead of Local Elections
As local body elections approach, NDA partners TDP and JSP remain at odds over seat-sharing arrangements.
NDA partners TDP and JSP have not yet agreed on seat-sharing for upcoming local elections.
Major disputes revolve around mayoral posts in key municipalities like Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.
A final decision on seat allocations is expected within two days.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is facing challenges in reaching a consensus on seat-sharing for the upcoming local body elections, with the notification for the elections issued recently. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena Party (JSP) have maintained firm stances regarding the number of seats and positions they wish to contest, indicating a potential delay in finalizing their agreement.
The negotiations have hit a significant roadblock, particularly concerning mayoral positions in major municipal corporations such as Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Anantapur, Nellore, and Vijayawada. Both JSP and BJP are vying for a larger share of these influential civic roles, which has complicated discussions. The BJP is pushing for three mayoral posts, while TDP’s national president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has countered with an offer of just one mayoral post along with five municipal chairman positions, leading to a deadlock.
Reports suggest that Naidu has also rejected the BJP's request for the Nellore mayoral position, citing the area's Muslim-majority demographics and the BJP's limited electoral prospects there. This decision has further strained relations between the parties as they attempt to negotiate a viable seat-sharing formula.
On Wednesday, TDP and JSP leaders convened to discuss the situation, but no concrete outcomes were reported. Similarly, BJP leaders did not provide any optimistic updates following their discussions with Naidu. JSP MLA Bolisetti Srinivas indicated that the seat-sharing arrangement would be finalized in a subsequent meeting, after which the alliance would announce its candidate list. He emphasized that both parties had agreed to contest together and that the seat allocation would consider local political dynamics to avoid hurting either party's sentiments.
As the deadline for finalizing the seat-sharing approaches, the alliance has yet to determine how many seats each party will contest. Srinivas assured that details regarding the contested seats would be revealed within the next two days, as the NDA partners strive to present a united front in the elections.
