NDA seat-sharing remains unresolved

Amaravati: Differencesof opinion within the ruling NDA over local body elections have come into sharper focus, with Jana Sena Party reportedly expressing displeasure over the finalisation of reservations for municipal corporations and municipalities without consulting the party, even as seat-sharing negotiations among the TDP, Jana Sena and BJP remain unresolved ahead of the expected election schedule.

TDP state president Palla Srinivasa Rao and water resources minister Nimmala Ramanaidu met with Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan at the Jana Sena office on Tuesday to discuss the reservations issue and the allocation of seats. The meeting followed a series of consultations among alliance leaders over the past 48 hours, reflecting the urgency of reaching an agreement before the election process begins.

Jana Sena leaders are understood to have conveyed their dissatisfaction that the TDP did not consult them or share information before reservations were finalised. They reportedly sought changes to certain allocations, arguing that corporations they intended to contest had been reserved in ways that constrained their choices. Kakinada and Machilipatnam were cited among the seats affected.

However, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has reportedly made it clear that reservations cannot be altered at this stage, maintaining that the exercise was conducted after a detailed and transparent assessment. TDP leaders reiterated this position during their meeting with Pawan Kalyan. The specific reservations Jana Sena objects to have not been officially detailed.

The dispute is unfolding alongside negotiations over the distribution of the 17 municipal corporations and 106 municipalities. Jana Sena is seeking six corporations and 26 municipalities, particularly in areas where it has sitting MLAs or a strong presence. Its preferred corporation seats reportedly include Kakinada, Rajamahendravaram, Eluru, Vijayawada, Machilipatnam, Visakhapatnam, Ongole and Nellore, although the final list remains under discussion.

If Jana Sena secures six corporations and the BJP gets one or two, the TDP would be left with nine or ten of the 17 mayoral contests. The BJP, represented in the discussions by state president P V N Madhav, is seeking two corporations, with Tirupati and Nellore among the seats discussed; other reports have also identified Visakhapatnam as an option.

The negotiations have become particularly sensitive because several parties are staking claims to the same urban centres, including Kakinada, Eluru, Rajamahendravaram, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Nellore. Jana Sena’s demand also carries political significance in view of Pawan Kalyan’s recent assertion that the circumstances of the 2026 local elections differ from those of the 2024 general elections and that his party should not be expected to make similar sacrifices again.

Naidu will meet BJP leaders on Tuesday night, but the BJP’s final allocation is expected to depend on the outcome of the TDP-Jana Sena discussions. A further meeting between Naidu and Pawan Kalyan is likely to settle the remaining differences.

The State Election Commission is expected to announce the urban local body election schedule on Wednesday, with elections proposed for 106 urban local bodies in a single phase. The interval between the schedule, formal notification and polling is expected to be short, with Dussehra holidays further compressing the campaign period. The unresolved seat-sharing arrangement has therefore become an immediate challenge for the alliance leadership.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

K Varaprasada Rao

K Varaprasada Rao[email protected]

K Varaprasada Rao is a Senior Reporter with The Hans India, covering the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat, Chief Minister's Office (CMO), State Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council and political affairs. With over 20 years of experience in journalism in Andhra Pradesh, he has extensively reported on governance, public policy, politics, and socio-economic issues that shape the state's development and influence the country's evolving landscape. He holds a postgraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. His reporting focuses on finance, industries, irrigation, agriculture, infrastructure, investment, public administration, and political developments, with a particular interest in analysing their long-term economic and social impact.

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