On his first visit to the capital after parting ways with the BJP, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday met leaders of various political parties including Congress, Trinamool Congress and NCP and vowed to defeat the saffron party in the next Lok Sabha polls.
Naidu, who spent considerable time in the Central Hall of Parliament, met NCP Sharad Pawar, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, Congress leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and K.C. Venugopal, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and Trinamool Congress leaders Sudip Bandhopadhyay and Derek O'brien.
He complained to them about how Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP "let down" the people of Andhra Pradesh on the issue of conferring the special category status on the state and lack of adequate financial assistance in building a new capital, Polavaram projects and other schemes.
The Chief Minister told reporters later that his break with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was final and he would work towards defeating it in the next elections. He declined to reveal his political strategy further.
Naidu also met TRS leader Jitendra Reddy and Kavitha, daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, and Union Ministers and BJP allies Anupriya Patel and Harsimran Kaur. DMK's Kanimozhi and AIADMK's V. Maitreyan also met Naidu.
O'Brien said that Naidu thanked the Trinamool Congress for its strong support to the no-confidence motion brought by the TDP and conveyed his greetings to party chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Interestingly, a number of BJP MPs, including veteran Murli Manohar Joshi, greeted Naidu.
The Telegum Desam Party quit the NDA and the government at the Centre last month after accusing the Modi government of "betraying" his state by failing to execute the promises made at the time of its bifurcation.
--IANS
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