Praja Rajyam a product of Opposition’s failure: YSR

Lack of credibility, poor show by TDP and other parties created new political space in State, says Chief Minister


Lack of credibility and poor show by the Opposition, especially the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had created new political space and resulted in the emergence of Praja Rajyam, according to Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Redddy.

Harping on “effective governance that brought credibility to the government’s welfare schemes and development programmes over the last five years,” Dr. Reddy said at a press conference here on Saturday that little or no anti-establishment mood among the electorate was providing the necessary confidence to the Congress to face the elections.

“Division of anti-Congress vote and fulfilment of the promises made by us will be the key to our handsome victory in the elections,” Dr. Reddy remarked.

Singling out the TDP for its “political bankruptcy” on various issues, Dr. Reddy said it was a strange phenomenon that its president N. Chandrababu Naidu was making promises while his brother-in-law Nandamuri Balakrishna and nephew NTR Jr. were going around the State taking the responsibility to fulfil them. “This only shows how Mr. Naidu’s credibility has eroded in the last five years,” he noted.

Dissimilar ideologies

The Chief Minister ridiculed the Grand Alliance for dissimilar ideologies among its constituents. The TRS and the CPI (M) had diametrically opposite views on separate Telangana. “Can we expect such an alliance to function in unison and take on the Congress?” he asked.

The alliance could not even hold a joint public meeting in the city and yet had vowed to bring down the Congress, Dr. Reddy quipped.

On Telangana, he said the party in principle had no objection on creating a separate State, but some issues had to be resolved. He dismissed the talk that presence of film stars of other parties would impact Congress chances. “When film stars campaign, it is a free show,” he remarked.