Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said attempts to wean away Kapus and Muslims during the recent elections were thwarted by the people who reposed confidence in the TDP by observing the development achieved by it. He observed that Mudragada Padmanabham and Manda Krishna had tried to provoke the respective sections with the hope that they would vote against the TDP, but their plans came to a naught as people realised their intentions.
“The victory in Nandyal and Kakinada gave a fillip to our chances of improving our performance in the 2019 elections. In Nandyal, though the candidate was young and inexperienced man, people gave their mandate to the TDP as they believed in its commitment to development and welfare,” he asserted.
Addressing the TDP coordination committee meeting, Mr. Naidu exhorted the party’s rank and file to reach out to every family during the ‘Intintiki Telugu Desam’ programme beginning on September 11 not as a show of strength but to know their problems and solve them. The TDP cadres should find out whether the welfare schemes reached the targeted sections and plug any leakages, and take the people’s feedback on the government’s performance.
The Chief Minister said the party’s weaknesses should not become the strengths of the Opposition parties, who would always look for opportunities to corner the government on various issues. It (TDP) should strive for development, particularly the agriculture sector which is in a crisis.
On Mr. Padmanabham’s remarks that the result in the Kakinada election would be different had he campaigned, Mr. Naidu quipped that he should have teamed up with YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and the outcome would be anybody’s guess.
Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Y.S. Chowdary, Nara Lokesh and other Ministers were among those present.
