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The very factor which was responsible for Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu losing power in 2004 — focusing on development of urban areas particularly Hyderabad at the cost of the agriculture sector — turned out to be his trump card this election, with his party capturing power in the residuary state of Seemandhra with a thumping majority.
The division of Andhra Pradesh with the carving of Telangana state has thrown up the challenge of developing a befitting capital city for Seemandhra, and who else to deliver the goods than Naidu, who has a proven track record in this area during his nine year tenure from 1995 to 2004.
Virtually written off by political pundits following his ‘now-on, now-off’ stand on the separate statehood issue, Naidu once seen as a key player in national coalition politics, bounced back into centre stage giving the YSR Congress (YSRC) led by Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy a run for his money halfway through the gruelling campaign for the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assembly.
The tech-savvy TDP chief, who used advanced technology and gadgets during the electioneering, also changed his style of campaigning this time around. Not known to hold the attention of the crowds in elections meetings, Naidu this time around was a changed person, his body language was different, and he sought the crowd’s participation at every meeting, throwing questions at them.
After declaring that he would have nothing to do ever with the BJP after his party’s drubbing in 2004, Naidu, a shrewd strategist, took the calculated risk of striking an alliance with the saffron party once he was sure that a major chunk of the minorities’ vote bank had shifted to the YSRC. Once a Modi-baiter, Naidu, who had gone to the extent of stating that his tie-up with the BJP was the biggest mistake in his life, swiftly changed tune to sing praises of the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. This, coupled with his past image of being a ‘performing’ chief minister, paid him rich dividends this time around.
The development of the residuary Seemandhra state must have weighed heavily on the minds of the electorate when they entered the polling booths, and with their thoughts translating into action, Naidu is again back at the helm, albeit of a truncated state.
— news@khaleejtimes.com
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