Vijayawada
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu met with Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazeer at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday and staked a claim to form a government in the state. He also declared Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
Naidu was accompanied by his party allies, Janasena Party chief Pawan Kalyan and BJP state president Daggubati Purandeswari.
TDP, Janasena Party, and BJP, which fought together as NDA in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, registered a landslide victory, winning 164 out of the total 175 seats. TDP won 135 seats, Janasena Party won 21, and BJP won 8.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with the Governor, Daggubati Purandeswari said, “There was an NDA meeting today in which Chandrababu Naidu was elected as the leader of the NDA Legislative Assembly. We have just come to the Governor and submitted a request letter to him that he should invite Chandrababu Naidu to form the government immediately, to which the Governor has responded and said that following the proper procedures, he will immediately call him to form the government.”
She added that the swearing-in ceremony will take place on June 12.
TDP MLA Atchannaidu, who was also part of the delegation that met with the Governor, told reporters that all three (TDP, Janasena, and BJP) parties participated in the meeting and unanimously elected Chandrababu Naidu as the Chief Ministerial candidate.
“We have met the Governor and told him the same thing,” Atchannaidu said.
Earlier in the day, during a meeting held in Vijayawada, the NDA MLAs proposed N Chandrababu Naidu as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the NDA government, which is set for swearing-in on June 12.
Leaders of NDA constituent parties, including state BJP president Daggubati Purandeswari, TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu, and Janasena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, attended the meeting.
Addressing the meeting, Pawan Kalyan said, “From the Janasena Party, we are giving our consent to Chandrababu Naidu to become the upcoming CM of the NDA government.”
Naidu, while addressing the meeting, thanked the people for the historic mandate. “All MLAs of the BJP, Janasena, and TDP have given their consent for me to become Andhra Pradesh’s upcoming Chief Minister of the NDA government,” he said while addressing the meeting.
“This much victory and satisfaction I never had before. In Delhi, everyone respected us because of the mandate the people have given us. In 1994, there was one-sided elections. Even then we did not win this many seats. We won 164 seats. We only lost 11 seats. That is, we won 93 per cent. The average voting percentage was 57 percent in these elections. Our responsibility has increased,” Naidu said.
N. Chandrababu Naidu further declared that Amaravati is the state capital. “Even after 10 years we are not in a position to say where is our state capital,” he said, slamming the previous government of YSR Congress Party for putting a halt to the development of Amaravati as the state capital.
In 2019, the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government reversed the decision by the earlier TDP government to develop Amaravati as the state capital and announced that three state capitals would be developed.
“Our capital is Amaravati,” declared Naidu, who is set to take oath as the Chief Minister on Wednesday.
Naidu assured that Visakhapatnam will be developed as a financial capital and a modern city and Kurnool will be developed in all respects.
Revealing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NDA leaders will attend the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday, Naidu said the Centre’s help was required for the state’s development.
The Chief Minister-designate vowed to complete the Polavaram project. Claiming that the TDP government in the past had completed 72 percent of the works, he said the remaining works would be completed with the Centre’s help.
Stating that their government will be a ‘people’s government’, the TDP chief said there would be no Praja Vedika-like demolitions.
Naidu said the people gave an unprecedented mandate to the TDP and its allies in the state. “We have won 93 percent of seats. This is the first time in the country,” he said.
Asserting that 57 percent of people voted for the alliance, the TDP chief said it was now time to live up to their expectations by rebuilding the state.
The TDP chief also recalled that his family was insulted in the Assembly. “I called it Kaurava Sabha and came out. I vowed to return to the Assembly after a win in the people’s court. People supported me in fulfilling this pledge,” he said.
Stating that he served as the Chief Minister for 14 years and Leader of the Opposition for 15 years, Naidu said he converted every crisis into opportunity. “Andhra Pradesh has many problems. The state is in complete ruins. All sections have suffered. Farmers have landed in debt,” he said.
Source: awazthevoice