In the past five years of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) regime, the people of Andhra Pradesh have witnessed massive ambiguity over the capital city. The long-standing uncertainty has led to some Indian maps displaying the State without a capital, allege Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders.
Expressing confidence over the victory of the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance in the State in an exclusive interview with The Hindu, Ongole MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, who recently jumped ship to the TDP from YSRCP, said: “Everybody is expecting that NDA alliance, headed by N. Chandrababu Naidu, will form the next government. People of the State are unhappy about the rising costs under the YSRCP rule and are looking towards better administration.”
“Over the last five years, the financial situation of the State has deteriorated and only Mr. Naidu can rectify the condition. He can take up the development activities without borrowing more money. The alliance government will complete all long-pending and bring down the prices of essential commodities,” he added.
TDP is contesting 144 out of the 175 Assembly seats and 17 among the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the State. The party candidates are confident of the victory of the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance owing to their ‘super six’ manifesto, he claimed.
Unity among alliance cadre
Debunking the allegations of ‘no unity’ among the alliance parties, Mr. Sreenivasulu Reddy said: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming to A.P. to campaign for the alliance. JSP chief Pawan Kalyan is also cooperating with the TDP cadre. At the ground level, cadres are working together and leaders of the three parties are jointly taking part in the campaigning. After the elections, the posts will be decided by the NDA. Mr. Naidu and Mr. Kalyan will jointly work for the welfare of the people in the State,” he purported.
Expressing similar views, former Union Minister and TDP star campaigner Panabaka Lakshmi said: “The people are expecting change. The State needs a visionary and experienced leader like Chandrababu, who has plans to uplift the poor, unemployed youth and farmers.”
Schemes for women
“Our manifesto has given more priority to women, offering free bus travel to all women in the State and monthly pension for all needy women. Every mother will get ₹15,000 per annum under the ‘Talliki Vandanam’ scheme and three gas cylinders per household under the ’Deepam’ scheme. DWCRA women will get interest-free loans up to ₹10 lakh,” she added.
Upon being asked about the issue of 4% reservation for Muslims, which the manifesto does not touch upon, Ms. Lakshmi said: “Union Home Minister Amit Shah has clearly announced that they have no plans to remove the 4% reservation for Muslim minorities in the State. The BJP leaders are cooperating with the State for the welfare of all castes and religions.”
