Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh says re-election of incumbent government key for sustainable progress

Time of India

7 days ago

Tirupati: HRD minister Nara Lokesh asserted that Andhra Pradesh will witness development for a prolonged period of time if the state adopts the Gujarat and Odisha models of governance where the incumbent govts were elected for seven and five consecutive terms on a trot.
Addressing a massive turnout of over five lakh people at the Mahanadu public meeting held at Kadapa on Thursday, Lokesh recalled Andhra Pradesh too witnessed tremendous progress on all fronts when the TDP under his father and grandfather's leadership won two consecutive elections on a trot between 1994-2004.
Lokesh recalled the manner in which the TDP managed to balance between development and welfare after coming to power in the state post the bifurcation of combined Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
"But because of a regime change in 2019, all the development initiated during the TDP regime came to a standstill. While no new industries evinced interest to come to AP, the existing industries also relocated to other states during the YSRCP rule," the HRD minister recalled.
"While the state was doomed on all fronts, nearly 30,000 people lost their lives by consuming spurious liquor during the YSRCP regime. False cases were booked on TDP leaders and cadres and many were intimidated by force and attacks," Lokesh recalled.
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He said that the YSRCP's tally came down drastically from 151 seats in 2019 to just 11 in 2024 elections purely due to it's arrogance. He underlined that it was quintessential for the ruling party leaders to set aside their arrogance and egos and remain grounded at all times.
Stating that the BJP, Jana Sena and the TDP came together with a common agenda in the 2024 elections and today the people of the state who pledged support to the alliance are able to reap the fruits of their decision.
"We secured 164 out of 175 assembly seats with 94 percent strike rate. Because we were also able to win 21 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 elections, the NDA govt at the Centre is literally granting every single request from AP as a special case since the state backed the NDA alliance," Lokesh added.
The HRD minister also mocked the YSRCP by stating that the then ruling party, which bragged about winning 175 out of 175 seats, ended up winning just 11 assembly seats in the 2024 elections, not even qualifying for the status of the opposition party.
"Even after losing so badly, the Tadepalli palace hasn't still opened its doors for its own leaders and the Aam janta," Lokesh added.
The HRD minister underlined that though there will be problems and differences, the alliance should remain intact. "There should be no scope for divorce, misfires and crossfire in the NDA alliance at any cost," Lokesh said.
Listing out the rollout of various welfare schemes including the NTR Bharosa pensions, launch of free bus rides for women from Aug 15, and the Deepam scheme, the minister also assured the people of the state that the NDA alliance had adopted decentralised form of development.
"The Rayalaseema region, considered backward, is being transformed into an electronics, renewable energy and horticultural hub under the govt's mission Rayalaseema initiative. Similarly, various development projects are being grounded across the state region wise," Lokesh asserted.