Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu addressed the media ahead of his New Delhi visit on Wednesday, June 5, confirming his participation in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting. Naidu’s TDP, a key partner in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance, played a crucial role in the alliance’s success in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The NDA appears poised for a third consecutive term, securing 293 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, with the BJP winning 240 seats and falling short of a majority on its own. The numbers have now left the BJP heavily dependent on its alliance partners such as the TDP and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) to secure the 272 seats required to form the government. Naidu’s TDP achieved a massive victory in Andhra Pradesh, winning 16 of the state’s 25 Lok Sabha seats, while JDU won 12 out of 40 seats in Bihar.
It is reliably learnt that the Congress has reached out to both Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar through multiple channels, in the hopes that they might reconsider their position in the NDA alliance in the coming months.
Before leaving for the NDA’s meeting in New Delhi on June 5, alongside another alliance partner Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, Naidu held a press conference and asserted that the TDP was still a part of the NDA. “I am going to an NDA meeting in Delhi. If there’s anything to inform you, we will,” he said
Speaking about the TDP's landslide victory in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, Naidu said, “There was a massive anti-incumbency wave. People from all over turned out to vote, making this a historic election for both the state and the party.” He added that he has seen up to ten elections in his political career, and that both victories and defeats are common in politics. “Only the country and democracy are permanent,” he said.
Naidu further accused the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government, led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, of “damaging” the state in five years by creating debt and depleting resources. “The outgoing government severely restricted our freedoms, affecting all sectors,” he said. He then credited the election manifesto and strategic alliances for TDP’s success, particularly congratulating Jana Sena Party and Pawan Kalyan's efforts in preventing an anti-government vote split. He also thanked the TDP activists for their commitment.
In Andhra Pradesh, the NDA alliance partners won 164 out of 175 Assembly seats in a landslide victory — 135 for TDP, 21 for Jana Sena, and eight for the BJP. The alliance won 21 out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats, with the TDP winning 16 seats, the JSP winning two, and the BJP three. The YSRCP, meanwhile, suffered a terrible setback, securing only 11 Assembly and four Lok Sabha seats.
As per reports, Naidu’s swearing-in ceremony as Chief Minister will be held on June 9 and is expected to be attended by BJP leaders Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
Also read: Congress reaches out to Naidu, Nitish as NDA attempts to form alliance government