Chandrababu Naidu meets Andhra Governor to discuss government formation

Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu, who is set to become the first Chief Minister of the new post-bifurcation residual state of Andhra Pradesh, called upon Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan at the Raj Bhavan here today evening, sources said.

Chandrababu, along with newly-elected TDP MLAs from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, met the Governor and discussed formation of a government, sources said.

He is expected to take the oath on or after June 2 when the new residual state of Andhra Pradesh would formally come into being.

As promised to the people, the TDP chief would take oath in either Vijayawada or Guntur, which are in the post-bifurcation residual state of Andhra Pradesh and may also choose one of these cities to run his administration, since they are centrally located, sources said.

Though Hyderabad would continue to remain the joint capital of the residual state of Andhra Pradesh as well as Telangana for ten years after bifurcation, Chandrababu Naidu is said to be keen on running the administration from a city in the residual state.

Meanwhile, Chandrababu is scheduled to leave for New Delhi tonight to take part in a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), sources said.

The TDP, which returned to the NDA after a decade, is expected to join the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.

On the other hand, BJP president Rajnath Singh rang up Telugu movie star and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan over phone this evening and invited him to attend the NDA meeting in New Delhi tomorrow, sources said.

The Jana Sena had extended its support to the TDP-BJP combine during the general elections and campaigned extensively along with Narendra Modi and Chandrababu Naidu.

Naidu requested Narasimhan to ensure that bifurcation process of Andhra Pradesh is done in a transparent manner, leaving no scope for any misgivings.

Naidu, who is set to take over as the first Chief Minister of new residual post-bifurcation state of Andhra Pradesh, made a "courtesy call" at the Raj Bhavan here this evening, along with newly-elected MLAs of his party.

"I have requested the Governor to ensure complete transparency in the bifurcation process. There should not be any misgivings from any side. There is a special situation in Andhra Pradesh due to bifurcation and I have sought the Governor's co-operation," Naidu told reporters after his meeting with the Governor.

Lamenting that despite being the longest serving CM as well as the longest serving opposition leader, Naidu said, he was unable to understand what was happening with regard to the bifurcation.

Being the only political party with a presence in both the states, it is TDP's responsibility to work for development of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Naidu said.

"There is a special situation in Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation. Everything has to be developed from scratch in the new state. In Telangana, there are problems related to electricity and irrigation water. We have to address these problems and work for the development of the two states," the TDP chief said.

He expressed confidence that equal justice would be done to the two states since the NDA, led by Narendra Modi has come to power at the Centre.

"Only the TDP and the NDA can unite the Telugus and lead them on the path of development. Modi has also promised this," he said.

Naidu said the TDP would extend all co-operation to the first government of Telangana state led by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).

"We will definitely extend our support if they do good things, but some people are trying to derive political mileage which we will not allow. We will aid the development of

Telangana also and come to power in the state in 2019," he said.

When asked about YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's meeting with Narendra Modi in New Delhi today, Naidu said, "You can look at it in your own way. People know why Jagan met Modi; his (Jagan's) own benefit or something else," Chandrababu said.

Asked about cases against the YSR Congress president, who is set to be the main opposition leader in the Andhra Pradesh assembly, Naidu said that the law would take its own course.

Meanwhile, Narasimhan took Naidu on a trip down the memory lane when the latter called on him at the Raj Bhavan this evening.

"I was an IPS officer (serving in the Intelligence Bureau) when you were Chief Minister (between 1995 and 2004). You used to visit New Delhi regularly. K Yerran Naidu, then leader of Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party, represented to me that your security has been scaled down.

"And I saw to it that your security was enhanced," Narasimhan reportedly told Naidu.

The TDP chief then recalled the services of Yerran, who was killed in a road accident in late 2012. "It's unfortunate that Yerran Naidu is no more," the Governor said.

The Governor told the newly-elected TDP MLAs, who accompanied their leader to the Raj Bhavan, that Naidu, whose party won a clear mandate in the just-concluded polls in Seemandhra, was a hard worker.

"If you too work hard like him, you will earn a good name," Narasimhan reportedly remarked.

The Governor then enquired from Naidu when he would take oath as Chief Minister of (new) Andhra Pradesh. Naidu replied that it would be only after the "Appointed

Day" (June 2) when the bifurcation of AP would be formally completed and the two States (Telangana and the residuary Andhra Pradesh) come into being.

The TDP chief, who spent over an hour at the Raj Bhavan, also had a ten-minute one-on-one interaction with Narasimhan where they were said to have discussed the Government formation issue in detail.

Asked when and where the swearing-in ceremony would be, Naidu told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan that the date and venue would be decided in two-three days.