TDP, Second Largest Party in NDA, Likely to Join Govt at Centre

Amaravati: The Telugu Desam Party, the second largest constituent in the BJP-led NDA with 16 MPs and one that has emerged as 'king maker' in the bloc's government formation at the Centre, is likely to join the union cabinet, a party spokesperson said on Thursday.

Further, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu will be sworn-in as as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh on June 12.

"Chandrababu Naidu's swearing-in ceremony is tentatively scheduled for June 12. We are a part of the NDA and will obviously be joining the Central government," party spokesperson Jyotshna Tirunagari told PTI.

The TDP leader further said this is not the first time that the party has been in government with the NDA at the centre.

"If you remember, during Vajpayeeji's government, we were also there. In 2014, we were there, and now, in 2024, we are here,� she added.

TDP is the second-largest and most crucial party in the NDA, she said.

Late TDP leader GMC Balayogi was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister. However, he died in a chopper crash in Andhra Pradesh in 2002.

Former TDP MP K Ravindra Nath said Naidu has directed all party MPs to attend NDA's Friday meeting in New Delhi, and said that the party chief is also leaving for the national capital tonight.

When asked about the TDP joining the government at the Centre, he said that so far, the TDP supremo has not given any indications.

The TDP alone won 16 MP seats in Andhra Pradesh, while the NDA alliance of the TDP, BJP and Janasena collectively won the lion's share of 21 seats out of 25.

Senior BJP leader and the party's Rajya Sabha MP GVL Narasimha Rao told PTI that there are discussions among NDA partners, but no clarity has emerged so far.

"No information has come out so far. We will have to wait until it comes out officially. We know that discussions are going on. But we don't have information on how many seats (cabinet berths) are being offered," the BJP leader said.

During the NDA regime in 2014, in which the TDP was also a constituent, the Andhra Pradesh-based party was given one cabinet minister post and a minister of state.

P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Y S Chowdary (now in BJP) were in the cabinet from June 2014 to 2018.