Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections 2024: The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Saturday announced its first list of 94 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh.
TDP, led by former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, will be contesting the forthcoming polls in alliance with the Jana Sena Party (JSP). The state has a total of 175 seats.
In the first list, the TDP-JSP have declared 118 candidates out of which 94 are of the Chandrababu Naidu's party while the remaining 24 are of JSP.
Notably, out of 94 on TDP's list, 23 newcomers have been entrusted with the responsibility to contest. The names of 24 JSP candidates will be announced soon.
TDP to contest on 151 seats, JSP on 24
TDP will contest 151 seats and Jana Sena 24 seats under the seat adjustment announced by the two parties on Saturday for the forthcoming elections to the 175-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
The TDP has also left three out of 25 Lok Sabha seats for Jana Sena.
The announcement was made at a joint press conference by TDP national president and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena leader and actor Pawan Kalyan.
Naidu and Pawan Kalyan said that if the BJP comes forward to join them, talks will be held with it and an appropriate decision will be taken at appropriate time. Naidu also announced the first list of 94 candidates of TDP. Pawan Kalyan announced the first list of five candidates.
Both the leaders said they decided to have the alliance for the future five crore people of the state.
“It’s a historic day. This is the first step for a good cause,” he said. Pawan Kalyan said they want to avoid a split of anti-YSRCP votes.
The Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled to be held along with Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission is working towards ensuring more than 83 percent polling in the forthcoming elections in Andhra Pradesh, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena.
As part of this goal, the CEO noted that several programmes are being undertaken to educate voters on the importance of exercising their franchise.
"During 2019 polls, the state recorded an average polling percentage of 79.77 while the national average was 69 percent," said Meena in a press release.
Meanwhile, an Election Commission team from New Delhi arrived to evaluate Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programmes in Andhra Pradesh.
Meena called on the team, and observed that SVEEP programmes are being undertaken to ensure a polling percentage greater than 83.
He highlighted that extensive SVEEP programmes are being executed in the districts to enlighten every citizen and voter on the election process and make them stakeholders in the forthcoming polls.
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