Chandrababu Naidu elected as NDA leader in the Assembly, poised to take over as Andhra Pradesh chief minister

Leaders of the NDA comprising TDP, BJP and Jana Sena would meet Governor S Abdul Nazeer and stake claim to form a government.

There could be an invitation from the Governor to form the government by Tuesday evening.

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Vows to make Amaravati the sole capital

Addressing the meeting, Naidu said, “With all your cooperation, I am swearing in tomorrow (as the CM) and I would like to thank you all for that. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming for the swearing-in ceremony.”

Announcing that he will take charge as the chief minister for the fourth time, Naidu said he had asked for the Union government’s cooperation for the southern state and it was ‘assured’.

He vowed that Amaravati would be the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh and also promised to complete the Polavaram Project.

Further, he said the port city of Visakhapatnam will be developed as the economic capital and an advanced special city.

About the recent polls, the TDP supremo termed the landslide victory of the NDA as unprecedented.

“I would like to salute all the five-crore people in the state for showing their determination to save the state. All of us have campaigned on only one thing: People should win and the state should stand,” he noted.

According to Naidu, he had reviewed many elections in the past, but the 2024 polls gave him the greatest satisfaction. Incidentally, the victory enabled NDA leaders from the southern state to command respect in New Delhi.

Ministers likely to be sworn in

Along with Naidu, some more leaders are likely to be sworn in, including TDP general secretary and Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh and Jana Sena leader N Manohar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other dignitaries are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Reviewing the arrangements for the ceremony, Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad said the prime minister is expected to leave from Delhi for Gannavaram Airport at 8.20 am and arrive by 10.40 am on Wednesday.

According to the tentative schedule, he said Modi is expected to reach the venue by 10.55 am to participate in the swearing-in ceremony from 11 am to 12.30 pm. Thereafter, the prime minister is expected to return to the airport at 12.40 pm and take off for Bhubaneswar at 12.45 pm.

Earlier terms as CM

Naidu first became the chief minister in 1995 and went on to have another two terms.

His first two terms as chief minister were at the helm of united Andhra Pradesh, beginning in 1995 and ending in 2004, nine years at a stretch while the third term came post-bifurcation of the state.

In 2014, Naidu emerged as the first chief minister of bifurcated Andhra Pradesh and served it until 2019. He lost the 2019 polls to remain an Opposition leader until 2024.

Following a landslide victory in the 2024 elections, he is returning as the chief minister for the fourth term.

The NDA comprising TDP, BJP and Jana Sena won a landslide victory in the recently concluded simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the southern state with a brute majority of 164 Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats.

Also Read: With coffers running dry, Naidu faces challenge to deliver ‘Super Six’

Elected as NDA leader

On Tuesday, Naidu was elected NDA leader in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly by the TDP, Jana Sena and the BJP.

In a meeting of TDP, Jana Sena and BJP legislators, held in Vijayawada, the MLAs elected Naidu unanimously.

Andhra Pradesh BJP chief D Purandeswari and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan also attended the NDA meeting and supported Naidu as the chief minister candidate.

Earlier in the morning, Naidu was unanimously elected as TDP legislative party leader, TDP leader K Atchen Naidu said.

Similarly, Jana Sena founder Pawan Kalyan was elected as the party’s floor leader in the Assembly.

(With PTI inputs)