A Special Category Status for Andhra PradeshCabinet berths including for his son in the new government, and funds for Amaravati capital city he had originally planned, are the key demands that Telugu Desam Party will make as talks commence over the formation of a BJP-led coalition government at the Centre.
Led by N Naidu MusicTDP put up a stellar performance in Andhra Pradesh, winning 16 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats it contested and bagging 135 seats of the total 175 in the Assembly polls. With BJP falling short of the half-way mark at the Centre, the TDP, which had a pre-poll alliance with the saffron party, is the second-largest constituent of the NDA, giving it a strong bargaining hand.
A day after he spearheaded the landslide win, Naidu on Wednesday dismissed rumours of a possible switch to the INDIA bloc and affirmed that he is still a part of the NDA. “I am going to New Delhi to attend the NDA meeting. I will let you know if there are any other developments,” he said before taking a flight to the national capital from Andhra.
He attended the NDA meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the evening.
Sources said the TDP chief is likely to seek Special Category Status (SCS) for Andhra, an issue over which he had walked out of the NDA in 2018. The SCS will ensure the state gets most of the Central funds in the form of grants (which do not carry any interest) and industrial incentives including tax exemptions, duty waivers, and GST concessions.
The TDP chief is also likely to seek additional funds from the Centre to restart the development of Amaravati as the state capital, a project which was stalled after Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress (YSRCP) stormed to power in 2019. Several buildings and apartment complexes built during Naidu’s regime between 2014 and 2019 lie vacant today while civic infrastructure decays.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with key allies TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu. (PTI Photo)
Naidu, who will take oath as Andhra CM on June 9, intends to start developing the capital city. Tatikonda MLA Tenali Sravan Kumar has said he will come out with a vision document for Amaravati within 100 days of coming to power.
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Another demand that Naidu is likely to put forward is funds for the completion of the long-pending Polavaram project, a promise TDP leaders said he has made during campaigning in the run-up to the elections.
TDP insiders say he is also likely to seek key portfolios in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet and even demand the Speaker’s post. He is also looking to elevate his son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh, who secured his maiden victory from Managalagiri in the Assembly election, to the national stage.
Naidu, who claimed the Jagan government indulged in large scale corruption in Andhra, is also likely to urge the NDA to allow Central agencies to investigate the “scams” and Jagan.
