Amid many challenges, Chandrababu Naidu begins poll campaign with 'best wishes' from wife

Amaravati: Nara Bhuvaneswari sent her husband N Chandrababu Naidu on a 22-days long vigorous campaign wishing him ‘grand success’ in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. She broke a coconut seeking to ward off the evil sight and offered him Aarti when he started from his official residence on the banks of river Krishna at Vundavalli in Amaravati.

Later, Naidu, Bhuvaneswari and their son Lokesh left for Tirupati by a special flight to offer prayers at the Lord Balaji temple on the Seven Hills (Tirumala). The family took the blessings from the priests at the temple after offering special prayers. Later, Naidu addressed a meeting of the party workers before sounding the election bugle from Srikakulam in North Coastal Andhra.

Chandrababu Naidu will be campaigning vigorously for the April 11 elections for 25 Lok Sabha seats and 175 Assembly seats in the state. Naidu has been facing variety of challenges that include poaching of his party leaders by the opposition YSR Congress Party. Several leaders have left the party even after they were given tickets to contest. Former minister Adala Prabhakar is one such leader who left the TDP three days after it gave him the B Form to contest from Nellore rural constituency. He joined the YSR Congress Party on Saturday afternoon. YSR Congress chief YS Jagan is keen to field him into the fray for Lok Sabha from Nellore constituency.

Naidu suspects that Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Party, whose presence is hitherto confined to Telangana, is playing politics in Andhra using and backing YS Jagan. “TRS president KCR (K Chandrasekhar Rao) is playing dirty politics to weaken TDP by threatening our leaders who have properties or business interests in Hyderabad. He is forcing them to quit TDP and join the YSR Congress. Still, people are with us. We are going to win. Our target is to bag at least 150 seats in the 175-member Assembly”, Naidu claimed.

The YSR Congress has been postponing the release of its candidates list for Assembly and Lok Sabha, as it continues to induct those coming from the TDP. On Saturday, Jagan inducted Adala Prabhakar and former MP V Geetha in to the party. “Many more from the TDP will join our party”, a YSR Congress Party communication said.

Chandrababu will go on a whirlwind campaign covering Nellore, Guntur, Prakasam and Krishna districts on Sunday and Kurnool, Anantapur and Kadapa districts the next day. The party is facing unprecedented rebellion in several districts. Even Assembly Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao is facing stiff resistance from a section of the party workers in Sattenapalli constituency, where from he is seeking election for second term. “I will overcome this small crisis. I will interact with those opposing me”, Siva Prasad said.