Chandrababu Naidu to Skip Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Swearing-in
HYDERABAD/AMRAVATI ( AP): Outgoing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will not attend the swearing-in of his successor Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday and will Instead, a TDP delegation comprising party leaders Atchan Naidu, P Keshav and G Srinivasa Rao will meet the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-elect at his Amaravati residence before the event and hand over a congratulatory letter.
A meeting of TDP’s newly-elected MLAs presided over by party chief Naidu decided to depute the delegation to Reddy’s residence to congratulate him before his swearing-in. Andhra Pradesh to Turn Dry State: CM-Designate Jagan Mohan Reddy Plans Phase-Wise Ban on Liquor.
The TDP delegation comprising party leaders Atchan Naidu, P. Keshav and G. Srinivasa Rao will meet the YSRCP chief and also hand over a letter from Naidu congratulating him on assuming the office of chief minister.
Jagan, as the young leader is popularly known, is set to take oath as chief minister on Thursday at a ceremony to be held in Vijayawada. Though Jagan had personally telephoned the TDP chief to invite him to the swearing-in ceremony on Monday, a majority of the TDP leaders advised Naidu to stay away. During the party meeting on Wednesday, senior leaders said since Jagan was taking oath at a public event, Naidu should skip it.
According to TDP sources, the leaders felt that it would have been fine to attend the swearing-in at Raj Bhavan but since it is taking place at a public venue, it would not be appropriate to participate in it.
They suggested that a delegation of party leaders be sent to meet Jagan and congratulate him. The TDP chief accepted the suggestion. The YSRCP stormed to power with a landslide victory, winning 151 seats in 175-member Assembly.
Jaganmohan Reddy had invited Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday, five days after the results of the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections showed that his YSR Congress party had swept 151 of the 175 seats in the state. Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao has already confirmed his attendance of the swearing-in ceremony, scheduled for 12.23 pm.
After his victory in the assembly elections as well as the Lok Sabha polls, both of which were held simultaneously in Andhra Pradesh, Jaganmohan Reddy had taunted Chandrababu Naidu by saying that God had punished him for his “misdeeds”.
Besides Chandrasekhar Rao, Jaganmohan Reddy’s swearing-in ceremony is expected to be attended by Governor ESL Narasimhan, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, DMK chief MK Stalin and Janasewa Party chief Pawan Kalyan. It will be held at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Vijayawada.
(With inputs from Agencies)
