If people in Andhra Pradesh do not elect the TDP to power, the 2024 Assembly elections would be his last, said former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu at a road show in Kurnool yesterday.
With the YSRCP putting pressure to wrest away his home constituency Kuppam from the TDP, it is indeed a dire situation for Naidu who is known for his shrewd opportunism.
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In an emotionally charged speech late at night, the three-time chief minister said: “Unless you ensure our victory in the next election this could well be my last election.”
He was reminding the people that he had vowed to go to the Assembly only if he is voted to power and added that if he had to go back to the Assembly, stay in politics and justice is to be done to Andhra Pradesh then they must vote for him. He then went on and asked the people, “Will you bless me? Do you trust me?”
In the last election, TDP was defeated and was reduced to 23 MLAs in the 175 strong Assembly.
He alleged that the ruling YSRCP had made insulting comments about his wife in the Assembly in his presence. Under the YSRCP, the Assembly was no longer a “Gourava Sabha” but a “Kaurava Sabha” and he would restore it to its former glory.
Naidu asserted that he once developed Hyderabad, and he can do it again with Andhra Pradesh.
He also dismissed all the talk about his age, pointing out that he was physically very fit and referred to the US president Joe Biden who had assumed office at the age of 79. “Narendra Modi and I are of the same age,” said the former chief minister who is now 72.
Taking a dig at the TDP chief, the YSRCP said his party will cease to exist after the 2024 elections. Minister for Animal Husbandry S Appala Raju said the TDP chief has lost his hope with his son and was trying to gain sympathy by dragging his wife’s name during road shows. YSRCP MP Vijayasai Reddy too mocked the former chief minister saying “TaTa, Goodbye”.
