TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu chaired a meeting with his party MPs at his Vijayawada residence. After Thursday’s meeting, newly elected TDP MP from Bapatla Krishna Prasad Tenneti expressed his excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to serve, news agency ANI reported.
Talking about the meeting, Tenneti said, “He held a coordination meeting with all the MPs and also outlined the history of how the TDP has been committed to the welfare and development of the people and what kind of role we had played in national politics. In particular, he played a very important role in national politics with the NDA,” ANI reported.
“A lot of us were elected for the first time. Like me, I was elected for the first time,” Tenneti added. Chandrababu Naidu arrived in Delhi on Thursday to meet senior BJP leaders. He will be in the national capital to attend a meeting of NDA members, scheduled for Friday at the central hall of Parliament.
All TDP MPs reached Delhi on Thursday night to participate in this meeting. According to sources, the grand alliance will hold talks on the formation of the government. This comes after the NDA crossed the majority mark by winning 293 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. However, the BJP managed to secure only 240 seats, much less than its 2019 tally, ANI reported.
According to Election Commission data, the NDA registered a massive victory by winning 164 of the 175 seats in the Andhra Pradesh assembly, with the TDP winning 135 seats, the Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP) 21 and the BJP winning 8 seats. Both Naidu and Janata Dal (U) chief Nitish Kumar will have more say in the NDA as the BJP falls 32 seats short of an absolute majority on its own, unlike the last two NDA governments in center.
Although the JD(U) and TDP declared that they would remain in the NDA, the INDIA block did not stop wooing them. At the INDIA bloc meeting, leaders said the doors should be kept open for the TDP and JD(U). In a show of unity and support, 21 NDA leaders signed a resolution at a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s official residence on Wednesday, unanimously electing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their leader.
The resolution commended Prime Minister Modi’s efforts in nation building, welfare of the poor and development, reaffirming his commitment to these goals. Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu is scheduled to take oath as Chief Minister on June 12, and a state cabinet meeting is likely to be held on June 10.
(With contributions from ANI)