Mood of the Nation 2024: Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP projected to win 17 of 25 LS seats in Andhra

The Mood of the Nation poll by India Today Group said on Thursday that the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is likely to win 17 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh. On the other hand, the ruling Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) is expected to win 8 Lok Sabha seats later this year.

The BJP-led NDA and the Opposition's INDIA bloc may not win any seats in the Lok Sabha elections in the state this year, according to the MOTN poll.

While the ruling YSR Congress Party is expected to secure 41 per cent of the vote share, the TDP is likely to get 45 per cent. On the other hand, the BJP-led NDA and INDIA bloc are likely to get 2 and 3 per cent of the vote share, respectively.

Naidu on Wednesday met Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda amid indications that the two parties may join hands in Andhra Pradesh for upcoming polls.

Lok Sabha and assembly polls will be held simultaneously in the state.

If Naidu returns to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, he will be the second major regional leader to have done so after Janata Dal (United) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the opposition and joined its fold last month.

Both had fought the 2014 polls together when Telangana was yet to be formally separated from Andhra Pradesh. The BJP had then fought three seats and won all of them out of the 42 seats in the united state.

Following Telangana’s creation, Andhra Pradesh has 25 seats and the BJP is keen to contest on anywhere between six to eight seats, sources told PTI. 

The TDP had walked out of the NDA in 2018 but suffered majorly in the 2019 polls when it could win only three Lok Sabha seats and lost power in the state to the YSR Congress, which has mostly supported the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on key issues for the last five years.

However, political equations have prompted the BJP to explore the possibility of reviving its ties with the TDP, which has been pursuing the matter in earnest for long.

Actor Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party, which was a BJP ally, has already decided to join hands with the TDP.

With inputs from PTI