Tripartite alliance to sweep polls in Andhra Pradesh: Chandrababu Naidu

Vijayawada: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday predicted a clean sweep by TDP-BJP-JSP alliance in the May 13 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh.

He exuded confidence that the tripartite alliance will win 160 seats in the 175-member Assembly and will also capture 24 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

He reiterated that the TDP, Jana Sena Party and BJP entered into an alliance keeping in view only the state’s interests and not for any political or personal benefit.

Chairing the workshop of the leaders of all the three alliance partners here, Chandrababu Naidu made an appeal to all the leaders to move together collectively without any egos as there is every need for the three parties to be cautious in these elections. Expressing concern that misuse of power has reached its peak during the YSRCP rule, Chandrababu said desired results are possible only if care is taken in the selection of candidates.

The BJP, which is the alliance partner, is in power at the Centre while the Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan came forward for a tie-up as they believe that if the YSRCP is back in power, the state will suffer heavily. They also do not want the anti-incumbency votes to get divided. Stating that Pawan Kalyan is a leader with certain policies, Chandrababu Naidu said that all the Jana Sena Party activists are working with dedication under his leadership.

Maintaining that the TDP has its own credibility, Chandrababu said that he has been playing a crucial role in the selection of candidates since beginning.

Admitting that all those aspirants could not be fielded in these elections as the TDP has entered into an alliance with the two parties, Chandrababu Naidu said, "When we want the State to be victorious, we have to make certain sacrifices. We could not field some senior leaders who have been aspiring to contest the polls like Mr Gandi Babbji who wanted to be in the race from Vizag (South), Mr Devineni Umamaheswara Rao from Mylavaram, Mr Sridhar from Pedakurapadu and several others due to the tie-up with the two parties.”

The Jana Sena Party leaders are also facing a similar situation, he said and stated that they have to make certain sacrifices in the interest of the state though they have been working hard for the progress of the party. "I will never forget all those who have sacrificed their seats," Chandrababu told the leaders.

"The common goal of all the three parties is that all the candidates should win the polls. We should fight on behalf of the people successfully and get the votes. Lok Satta too has extended its support to us," Chandrababu said.

Maintaining that political re-engineering is now becoming a necessity, he felt that if weak candidates who do not have public support are in the race it will have its impact on other segments. "This is the reason the candidates have been selected after social re-engineering to get them elected," he added.

The TDP has decided firmly to develop the state on the lines the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is taking the country forward, he said and promised to transform the state into a poverty-free Andhra Pradesh. There is a need for digital currency to control the parties like the YSRCP, he felt and predicted that in the coming 10 years there will be total digital currency in the country.

"I have never expected to see a Chief Minister like Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy in my life as he is the only Chief Minister who converted politics into business. He has been surviving by uttering blatant lies everyday," Chandrababu said. A fake news has been created that the BJP state president Purandeswari has resigned from her post.

"No doubt, Mrs Purandeswari is my family member but she has been in a different party altogether for almost 30 years and it is quite common that members of a family can be in different parties," Chandrababu noted and asked as to why they are making a fuss on this.