Thanking the BJP, Naidu stated that they worked together with a true spirit to fulfil people's aspirations.
Chandrababu Naidu (Screengrab)
TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday, 5 June, reiterated that he would remain with the NDA led by the BJP, scotching rumours to the contrary.
Speaking to reporters at his Undavalli residence near Vijayawada, an upbeat Naidu, after crushing his arch-rival YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the hustings, said: “TDP is part of the NDA led by the BJP. I am leaving for Delhi to attend the NDA meeting today. Before that, I wanted to speak to the people through you (media),”
“We are in NDA. I am going to an NDA meeting. In the course of time, if there is anything we will report to you,” Naidu said when asked about his Delhi visit.
The TDP and Janasena, which won 16 and two Lok Sabha seats respectively from Andhra Pradesh, will play a crucial role in government formation at the Centre. The BJP won two seats in the state.
In an apparent jab at the previous Jagan government, Naidu said, “It is not us who got the freedom, you got freedom. After you (media), it is the people.”
Calling the election a historic one, that will be written in golden letters on the annals of the history of Andhra Pradesh and TDP, Naidu said, “I have never seen such an election before. We have seen a wave. People have come from America even, spending ₹5-10 lakhs to vote for the welfare of the state. Even migrant workers who have moved to neighbouring states for work, have spent their own money, carried their food and came to vote. I have never seen this kind of commitment before, and I don’t know how to thank them.”
Referring to the elections during the reign of NT Rama Rao, Naidu called this election unprecedented.
In 1983, NTR won 200 out of the 294 seats in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh after he founded the TDP.
The results of this election were similar to that, Naidu said.
The NDA led by TDP in the state, along with Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena and BJP, won 164 out of the 175 Assembly seats.
Hitting out at the YS Jagan-led YSRCP, Naidu said, the mandate was proof that people wouldn’t tolerate anyone who illtreats them.
“They proved that the same fate would be served for the destructionists, who went forward with corruption and ego,” he said.
Further speaking of the atrocities of the YSRCP government, Naidu recalled how “Pawan Kalyan too had no freedom in the state during the YSRCP regime. When he went to Visakhapatnam, he was asked to leave the city without any reason.”
He added, “In my long political career, I have never seen a government like the previous one. Irrespective of field and organisation, all democratic machinery has been made useless.”
“The five-year rule of YSRCP caused 30 years of damage to the state. All the systems were destroyed, and the economy had collapsed. Sand and mineral wealth had been looted. We have the responsibility of reinstating the systems in the state. Nobody knows why the YSRCP government hiked the electricity charges nine times. There is no reason for it,” Naidu added.
Thanking his cadre for the commitment, Naidu also noted that there was a crackdown on the media. “Recalling all this, democracy will have to hang its head in shame in the wake of the clampdown on the media.”
Recalling his statements outside the state Assembly, he said, “I said that it wouldn’t be right to stay in Kaurava Sabha and pledged to return to the Assembly only after winning. People cooperated with me to fulfil it.”
Speaking about the poll promises, Naidu said, “The Super Six and the Prajagalam promises have created hope for people, and our victory is a result of that.”
Thanking Pawan Kalyan for coming forward with the alliance, Naidu said, “He did it so as to not to split the anti-government vote and save the state and its future. I wholeheartedly appreciate him.”
Further thanking the BJP, Naidu stated they have worked together with a true spirit to fulfil people’s aspirations.
Naidu also thanked the BJP central leadership, Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and the saffron party’s state chief Daggubati Purandeswari.
Pawan Kalyan will also be attending the NDA meeting at the national capital, a day after the alliance emerged victorious in Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh.
Jana Sena sources told PTI that Kalyan left for New Delhi to attend the NDA meeting.
Ending the press briefing, Naidu urged the media and civil society to hold them accountable in the coming five years.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula with inputs from PTI)
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