No clarity on venue, date of Naidu’s swearing-in

Is it going to be Vijayawada or Tirupati? Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s assurance on taking oath as new Chief Minister of residuary Andhra Pradesh in the midst of people notwithstanding, uncertainty looms large over the date and venue of the swearing-in ceremony.

According to TDP sources, the party is yet to get a clarity on certain technicalities over the date of the swearing-in. “There are some technical issues that need to be clarified as the June 2 Appointed Day for the formation of two States is drawing closer. The date will be finalised once there is clarity on the issue,” a senior TDP leader said.

Mr. Naidu is understood to have zeroed in on Vijayawada and Tirupati as two possible venues where he will take the oath. A section of the party leaders feels that taking oath in the temple town would be auspicious and augurs well for the party and the government, while another section is favouring Vijayawada owing to its accessibility from all parts of the State.

“Vijayawada is easily accessible from all the major locations and we need not work out logistics afresh to organise a ceremony there,” a senior leader pointed out. Party sources, however, indicated that the tilt is towards Tirupati as Mr. Naidu has always chosen the temple town for undertaking any major activity in the past.

The TDP president said though Hyderabad would be the joint capital for the two States for a period of 10 years, he preferred to take oath in Seemandhra region as he was against giving the scope for any friction by organising the ceremony in the joint capital.

Mr. Naidu, who paid floral tributes to TDP founder, late N.T. Rama Rao on Saturday with his family members, said that the Congress suffered one of the worst drubbings in the just concluded elections because of the “irrational” manner in which the State had been divided.

“The party suffered in the State as also across the country and it should learn lessons from these elections,” he reasoned.

He said though the State was bifurcated, Telugus continued to remain one and that he would work for protecting the interests of people in the two States.