Hyderabad: Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu will take oath as the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, as the state begins its journey with the greatest of opportunities and some gigantic problems.
President Pranab Mukherjee withdrew the two-month-old President’s Rule in Andhra Pradesh from the midnight of Saturday, paving the way for installation of the elected government.
(Read: Invitees for Chandrababu Naidu’s swearing-in)
This marks the end of the process of parting with Telangana after 57 years.
Mr Naidu who will take oath as CM for the third time in the presence of a glittering array of guests, will have to use all his experience as an administrator to govern a state that lies 200 km away from the common capital.
(Read: Jagan Reddy refuses to attend Chandrababu Naidu's 'grand' swearing-in)
In Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Naidu has a friend who shares his development vision.
Mr Naidu will lean on the enterprising spirit of people as he begins from scratch, conceiving and building a world-class capital and developing a state that in its former avatar leaned heavily on Hyderabad.
The twin cities will legally be the common capital for AP and Telangana for 10 years, but Mr Naidu clearly wants to set up the AP capital and move in as soon as he can.
(Read: This is just the beginning)
While he has the template of Cyberabad, and the new mindset in Hyderabad, that he authored, Mr Naidu is clearly planning a capital that will be world class.
Though Hyderabad is the common capital, the AP government will not enjoy any executive authority, unlike the Telangana government.
(Read: Vijayawada turns yellow for N Chandrababu Naidu)
The safety and security of the people and protection to government establishments will be specially looked after by the Telangana Governor with some executive powers.
While on the one side Mr Naidu will have to push ahead with reforms and practically building a new state, he will have to counter-balance it with subsidies to a vast section of the population.
Interestingly, Mr Naidu is the second leader after N.D. Tiwari to be Chief Minister of two states.
Mr Tiwari, a four-time CM of Uttar Pradesh, also headed the Uttarakhand government after the bifurcation of that state.
