HYDERABAD — Despite a stiff opposition from local leaders, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday finally struck a deal with Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for the national and state elections in Andhra Pradesh. Seven of 10 district presidents from the party had reportedly threatened to resign if that happens. But the partnership could propel the BJP closer to the 272 seats it needs to form the next national government. Maids, 63, heads the TDP. He was cagey about whether he supports the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, which was sanctioned recently by the Indian Parliament. The region of Telangana will be born as India's 29th state on June 2. Naidu is expected to be spurned by Telangana voters for not championing their cause. For the same reason, he is likely to be rewarded in the regions of Seemandhra that will form the down-sized Andhra Pradesh. These areas have aggressively opposed the new map, not least because they will grapple with a reduced share of water and revenue from Telangana. The BJP will contest eight of the 17 parliamentary seats in Telangana and five of the 25 seats in Seemandhra. NDTV's opinion poll shows a big leap for Naidu in Seemandhra; his party is predicted to bag 14 of the 25 parliamentary seats at stake, according to one opinion poll. That's a gain of 10 seats from 2009. It will also give him the majority he needs to be chief minister of the residuary state. The same opinion poll forecasts that of the 17 seats in Telangana, the Congress and K Chandrasekhar Rao of the TRS will get seven each. The TDP gets two.
