Several top opposition leaders will reach Andhra Pradesh in the next one week to boost the electoral prospects of Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, in yet another show of strength of the bloc against the BJP.
Naidu has been on the forefront bringing together all opposition parties, including the Congress, to upstage the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government. By roping in all the opposition leaders into the campaign, Naidu is planning to send a message to the electorate that he would achieve special category status for Andhra Pradesh with their support.
However, the Congress leaders will stay away from the rally because the party is fighting the elections independently in all the assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in Andhra Pradesh.
He is also fighting a pitched battle with YSR Congress party of YS Jaganmohan Reddy in the southern state, which will hold the assembly and Lok Sabha elections simultaneously.
“A host of leaders of mahagathbandhan including Mamata Banerjee, HD Deve Gowda, Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Pawar, MK Stalin and Tejashwi Yadav are going to take part in the campaign for the TDP in the elections,” senior TDP leader and former MP Kambhampati Rammohan Rao told HT.
Naidu is also planning to stage a massive show of strength in Visakhapatnam on March 31 and has invited several national opposition leaders. “It will be attended by Mamata, Kejriwal, Farooq Abdullah, Sharad Pawar and Deve Gowda who would extend solidarity with Naidu and also strengthen the grand alliance cause,” Rao said.
{{/usCountry}}Naidu is also planning to stage a massive show of strength in Visakhapatnam on March 31 and has invited several national opposition leaders. “It will be attended by Mamata, Kejriwal, Farooq Abdullah, Sharad Pawar and Deve Gowda who would extend solidarity with Naidu and also strengthen the grand alliance cause,” Rao said.
{{/usCountry}}National Conference president Farooq Abdullah arrived in Vijayawada on Monday night to campaign for the TDP. He will participate in Naidu’s election rallies in Kadapa, Allagadda, Nandyal and Kurnool in Rayalaseema region, considered to be the bastion of YSR Congress party headed by YS Jaganmohan Reddy.
Another senior leader familiar with the development said senior leaders like Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie might also attend the Visakhapatnam rally.
Ahead of the Visakhapatnam rally, Aam Aadmi Party chief Kejriwal will campaign for the TDP in Vijayawada on March 28, while Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav will take part in the ruling party’s rallies in Nellore on April 2.
Apart from the Visakhapatnam rally, Deve Gowda and Sharad Pawar will campaign for the TDP in Anantapur and Kurnool districts. Similarly, Stalin, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie have agreed to address a few rallies of the TDP, but their dates have not been confirmed yet, Rammohan Rao said.
Andhra Pradesh, which has 25 parliamentary constituencies and 175 assembly seats, will witness the Lok Sabha election 2019 along with assembly polls in a single phase on April 11. Votes will be counted on May 23.