"Rusted Cycle": Jagan Mohan Reddy's Swipe At Chandrababu Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, peeved with Chandrababu Naidu's 'ghar wapasi' to the NDA, said the Telugu Desam Party leader's cycle (poll symbol) is "rusted" and so he is seeking support from other parties.

"The TDP cycle chain in the state is not running smoothly, prompting his visit to Delhi with his foster son to seek support from central parties. Elections are ahead. We are ready to fight against the alliance. YSRCP will stand with weaker sections," he said.

The attack on the TDP chief came at his party's huge show of strength -- the fourth Siddham (Ready for polls) cadre meet at the Bapatla district's Addanki. The meet is being attended by lakhs of party workers from across the state.

Mr Naidu, who had marched out of the NDA ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, made a U-turn yesterday, sealing a fresh deal with the BJP.

He and Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena Party signed up with the NDA to contest the coming simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

The TDP chief has been relegated to the fringes of state politics after his party's rout at the hands of Mr Reddy's YSR Congress in 2019. Over the recent months, he has been under the lens of Central investigation agencies and even got arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a corruption case.

But his return to the NDA fold is expected to give the BJP a much sought-after shot-in-the-arm,

Keen to find a toehold in southern states other than Karnataka, the BJP has been seeking alliances with local parties. Its efforts are yet to bear fruit in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Telangana.

But there are questions whether its alliance in Andhra Pradesh will have the desired effect at the hustings.

In the 2019 state polls, the YSRCP had bagged 151 seats in the 175-member Assembly, and polled 49.95 per cent of votes – 10 per cent more than the TDP, which could only bag 23 seats. Actor Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena's debut was less than sterling with just a single seat.

The BJP, which won four assembly seats in alliance with the TDP in 2014, failed to win any..

The voting trend for the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 had followed the same pattern. The YSRCP, which won 22 of the 25 parliamentary seats, polled 49.15 per cent votes. The TDP secured 39.59 per cent and bagged only three seats.