NEW DELHI, June 21: Keeping his promise he made in an emotional moment in 2021, the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) chief and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday came to the State Assembly only after returning to power.
“I will stay away from the House till I return to power,” Mr Naidu, the then leader of the opposition, had walked out of the state assembly with this vow in November 2021 after an emotional and heated exchange with the then ruling YSR Congress members. Nearly 2.5 years on, Naidu fulfilled his vow on Friday returning to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly as the state’s Chief Minister.
On November 19, 2021, Mr Naidu had vowed to step into the State Assembly again only after returning to power. In an emotional tone, the then Leader of the Opposition said in the House that he was pained by the “continuous abuses” by the ruling YSR Congress members. “For the last two and a half years, I have been bearing the insults but remained calm. Today, they have targeted even my wife. I was always lived with honour and for honour. I can take it no more,” Naidu had said.
As per reports, even as Naidu was speaking, then Speaker Tammineni Seetaram cut the mic while YSR Congress members called Naidu’s remarks a “drama.” Naidu had vented his frustration following an acrimonious exchange of words between the two sides in the House during a short discussion on the farm sector.
Later, he held an impromptu meeting with his party legislators in his chamber, where he reportedly broke down. The stunned TDP legislators reportedly consoled Naidu after which they all came back into the House. Naidu then announced his decision to stay away from the House “till I return to power”.
Five years after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of a much younger Jagan Mohan Reddy, Naidu led his party towards a landslide victory in the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections this month with allies BJP and Janasena Party (JNP) in tow. Naidu’s electoral triumph wherein his Telugu Desam Party won 135 seats and the alliance together 163 seats in the 175-memer House, came months after his arrest in an alleged corruption case. In the previous House, the TDP had 23 members.
In a related development, senior YSRCP leader Mudragada Padmanabham officially changed his name to ‘Padmanabha Reddy’ fulfilling his pledge made during the election campaign after he failed to ensure the defeat of Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls.
The septuagenarian changed his name following the victory of Mr Kalyan from Pithapuram Assembly constituency. In the run-up to the polls, the YSRCP leader had challenged that he would defeat Mr Kalyan and had said he would change his name to Reddy if Mr Pawan Kalyan could defeat him in his constituency.
“Nobody forced me to change my name. I have changed it on my own volition,” Mr Reddy told media. However, he complained that the Janasena chief’s fans and followers were allegedly abusing him. “The youth who love you (Kalyan) are incessantly dropping expletive messages. In my view this is not right. Rather than abusing, do one thing…eliminate us (all family members),” said Mr Reddy.
Mr Reddy, a prominent Kapu community leader and former minister has campaigned for Kapu reservation. He joined the YSRCP a few months before the elections.
(Manas Dasgupta)
