New Delhi: Amid suspense over the possible return of the Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold, the N. Chandrababu Naidu-led party is gearing up to announce at least six poll sops — largely targeted at women, youth and farmers — in a bid to wrest power from the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh in the assembly elections next year, with the promise of “rebuilding” the state.
Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who was on a short visit to Delhi, Tuesday said that the “welfare measures” he is going to announce will range from free bus travel for women and Rs 3,000 unemployment allowance for the youth to three free LPG cylinders per household annually.
The TDP is also likely to announce a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 for women in the 19-60 age bracket, a one-time allowance of Rs 50,000 per student, and an annual handout of Rs 20,000 for farmers. The party will also unveil a “vision document” carrying Naidu’s road map to develop India and Andhra by 2047.
Similar promises have been made by parties ahead of elections, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress. For instance, among the five “guarantees” that the Congress gave in the run-up to the Karnataka polls included a Rs 3,000 dole to unemployed graduates, and free travel for women in state buses.
A paper published in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) June 2022 bulletin had pointed out that “the freebies have exceeded 2 per cent of GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) for some of the highly indebted states such as Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.” According to the article, the spending on freebies accounts for 30.3 per cent of the state’s tax revenue, and 2.7 per cent of its GSDP.
The financial assistance schemes run by the Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSRCP government include ‘Jagananna Ammavodi’ under which a financial assistance of Rs 15,000 is given to parents, primarily mothers, to encourage them to send their children to school; and ‘YSR Rythu Bharosa’, which entitles each farmer family to Rs 7,500 per month. Overall, the YSRCP government had set aside Rs 27,541 crore in 2022-23 for such schemes, added the paper.
Brushing off concerns that the current state of Andhra Pradesh’s economy will be unable to shoulder the financial implications of such measures, Naidu said, “The YSRCP is not focusing on wealth creation or generating jobs. We will work on those areas as well. They have wrecked the economy of the state. Our slogan is going to be to save Andhra Pradesh, rebuild Andhra Pradesh.”
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TDP in ‘wait & watch’ mode
Naidu, son-in-law of three-term Andhra Pradesh CM N.T. Rama Rao, had Monday attended the unveiling ceremony of a coin to mark the centenary birth year of the late actor-turned-politician at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. BJP chief J.P. Nadda was also present and the two leaders briefly interacted on the occasion.
Interacting with reporters Tuesday, Naidu didn’t comment on the speculations regarding the TDP’s return to the NDA, which the party exited in 2018 over differences with the central government on special status for Andhra Pradesh.
Naidu’s meeting with Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in June this year had triggered speculation that the TDP and the BJP were close to sealing a formal alliance ahead of the 2024 general elections and Andhra Pradesh assembly polls, also scheduled for next year.
TDP sources said the party has adopted a “wait and watch mode” on the question of alliances as the BJP is also not revealing its cards, sending out mixed signals to both the TDP and the YSRCP, which has bailed out the Centre on multiple occasions in getting crucial Bills passed in the Rajya Sabha.
“The TDP is in no hurry. In any case the BJP is a marginal player in Andhra politics. The plus side of good relations with the Centre is that it will help the party fulfill many of its poll promises in the event of its victory,” a (party) source told ThePrint.
Another factor which is weighing on the mind of the TDP leadership is that having the BJP on its side may also help in tackling the “vindictive attitude” of the YSRCP towards its political adversaries, the source said.
Naidu also met Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar Monday and submitted a memorandum listing “violations of ECI’s instructions and misuse of electoral machinery by the incumbent YSRCP government”, seeking the poll body’s intervention.
In 2014, the last Lok Sabha election held in a united Andhra Pradesh, the BJP (contesting in an alliance with the TDP) had bagged three Lok Sabha and nine assembly seats, with a vote share of 7.2 per cent and 4.13 per cent, respectively, according to Election Commission data.
Going solo in 2019, the BJP failed to win a single Lok Sabha or assembly seat, and had to settle with a vote share of 0.96 per cent and 0.84 per cent, respectively, showed the data. The TDP won 3 seats in Lok Sabha and 23 seats in the assembly. The state has 25 Lok Sabha seats and 175 assembly seats.
Currently, the BJP is an ally of actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP) in the state.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)