In a huge boost to the BJP, which has been seeking to expand the NDA to meet its target of winning 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the party has finalised an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party and the Jana Sena Party in Andhra Pradesh.

Announcing that the pact has been sealed, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu said on Friday that the alliance would sweep the Assembly elections in the state, which are expected to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.

“Andhra Pradesh has been destroyed badly. The BJP and the TDP coming together is a win-win situation for the country and the state,” the former chief minister was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. 

A joint statement by the three parties is likely to be released soon and, sources said, a TDP-BJP rally is expected to be held in Guntur on March 17.

Mr Naidu and Jana Sena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan held a meeting with senior BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday and a deal was hammered out after an intense round of negotiations. Sources said that while the BJP wanted to contest 10 out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP made it clear that it is the primary opposition party in the state.

Sources said the formula which has been arrived at is that the TDP will fight 17 Lok Sabha seats while the BJP will be allotted six and the JSP will contest from two. The details of exactly which constituencies will be allotted to each party will be worked out after a BJP team visits Andhra Pradesh. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated developmental projects worth Rs 4500 crore, emphasising commitment to state’s development and criticising neglect of eastern India. He highlighted increased train speed, fake job cards, ‘tolabaz’ problem, family dominance in politics, removal of Article 370, and the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The incident, unfolding in the Bahbari range of the park, marks the third consecutive rhino chase at Manas National Park