Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) chief, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy created history by sweeping the recently concluded Vidhan Sabha as well as Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh. In a massive blow, Chandra Babu Naidu’s TDP was reduced to 3 seats out of 25 in the Lok Sabha polls and 23 seats in the 175-member assembly.
Jagan Mohan Reddy who was recently sworn in as Andhra’s chief minister, in a candid interview with Times Now’ Navika Kumar on, Frankly Speaking on May 26, three days after his massive victory was announced, said that Chandra Babu Naidu had been putting up an ‘act’ as he was not confident of the numbers.
Navika Kumar asked Reddy what in his opinion was Chandra Babu doing in Delhi until May 21 meeting several leaders of the opposition claiming he had the numbers.
Asserting that he would make it, not only to the CM’s seat but also to Delhi, the TDP chief ahead of the last phase of Lok Sabha elections had been on a meeting spree with the prospective Prime Ministerial candidates of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ parties.
Naidu had met Congress president Rahul Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, and BSP supremo Mayawati. Interestingly, each one of these leaders secretly harboured the desire to lead the country as the next Prime Minister of India.
Meanwhile, Reddy was of the opinion that Naidu saw the landslide coming. It was not possible to overlook the kind of landslide that emerged against his governance. It was because of this fear that Naidu wanted to carve out space for himself, said Reddy. Since he wanted to make some place for himself in the National front he colluded of projecting himself as a friend and a convener to these party heads, maintained the YRSCP chief.
Further, talking about his victory, Reddy said that he was confident of a landslide victory as public’s discontent with Chandra Babu Naidu’s government of evident.
Speaking about the padyatra he undertook that lasted 14 months, covering over 3,600 km as he toured 134 constituencies of Andhra Pradesh, Reddy said that owing to the emergence of huge gatherings in his padayatras the displeasure with Naidu’s government was apparent.
Anybody who would have witnessed that huge gathering would understand that it would be a landslide against Chandra Babu’s governance said, Reddy.
The full interview can be viewed here:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4RxCIRLKgY]
Meanwhile, after taking oath as the CM, Reddy in his first address to the newly-elected legislators of his party said that achieving special category status to Andhra Pradesh remained the party’s number one goal.
