Andhra Pradesh ministers Ganta Srinivasa Rao, TG Venkatesh and Erasu Pratap Reddy, who are all set to join the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), on Thursday said that only TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu had the ability to develop the Seemandhra region "comprehensively".
"Now that Andhra Pradesh has been bifurcated, we need a strong and experienced leader who can develop our region. Chandrababu not only has the experience, but also the vision to develop Seemandhra. Hence, we decided to join the TDP," the ministers, who were until recently with the ruling Congress, told reporters after meeting Naidu, to finalise their political plans on Thursday night.
"Only Chandrababu Naidu can turn Seemandhra into a Swarnandhra Pradesh (golden AP)," they said.
At a time when the BJP wind is blowing across the country, a leader with cordial relations with the national party is required to carry forward development plans, they said.
"Chandrababu has the right kind of relations with national leaders. He can put them to good use for the development of Seemaandhra," they said.
"We (people) don't need a leader who is concerned only about his own well being," the ministers said, indirectly taking a dig at YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.
TG Venkatesh and Erasu, who hail from Kurnool in the Rayalaseema region, said they suggested that Kurnool, which was the erstwhile capital of the Andhra state between 1953 and 1956, be made the second capital city of residual AP.
"We could have two capital cities like Jammu and Kashmir. That will contain the regional unrest, if any, and also contribute to development of the region," they said.
While Ganta Srinivasa Rao and four other Congress MLAs from their native Visakhapatnam district would formally join the TDP at a rally in Visakhapatnam on March 8, TG Venkatesh and Erasu will join the party at a similar rally in Kurnool at a later date.
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