Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan's Andhra Polls List Leaves Room For BJP

Telugu Desam president Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan have announced their first list of 118 candidates for the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, with 94 seats contested by the TDP and 24 to be fought by the Jana Sena. The latter will also fight three Lok Sabha seats out of 25 parliament seats in the state, they said.

Both the leaders left the scope open for the BJP to still join hands to form an alliance. "When there are developments on the BJP front, we will update you on the decisions taken," Mr Naidu said.

There are 175 assembly and 25 parliament seats in Andhra Pradesh where simultaneous elections will happen.

Mr Naidu had met with BJP leaders Amit Shah and JP Nadda in Delhi over two weeks ago. Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan has expressed hope that all three parties should come together to defeat the ruling YSRCP.

A list featuring 118 names, all reportedly crowdsourced, has been released by the Chandrababu Naidu and Pawal Kalyan-led alliance.

The names have been crowdsourced from 1 crore citizens, with Mr Naidu's Telugu Desam Party or TDP fielding the highest number of new Candidates, a marked shift in the politics of the state.

"This groundbreaking list of 118 nominees marks a significant shift in Andhra Pradesh's political landscape, embodying an unprecedented infusion of fresh faces, youth candidates, representation from the BC (Backward Classes) community, and women candidates," said the TDP in a statement.

Addressing a press conference at Undavalli, TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu said, "TDP-JSP is ready for election war. This alliance is for the state's future and the brighter future of Andhra Pradesh."

The list contains 28 candidates with post-graduate degrees, 50 candidates with graduate degrees, 3 doctors, 2 PhDs, and 1 IAS Officer.

"This candidate selection process stands as a testament to the power of the masses, as it has been prepared after considering the opinion of more than 1 crore 3 lakh 33 thousand people. By embracing crowdsourcing, the TDP-JSP alliance aims to decentralize power, placing the aspirations and voices of the people of Andhra at the forefront of their political agenda," said the statement.  

Chandrababu Naidu maintained that the Jagan Reddy-led ruling YSRCP has given out names through camp offices, while the TDP-JSP list is "not only inclusive but also revolutionary".