In a changing political narrative and the heat of elections looming over, political parties in Andhra Pradesh are going all out to woo voters with freebies and schemes, if they win and form a government. With YSR Congress President, announcing Rs. 3000 pension for senior citizens last month in Tirupati, AP chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu now has announced that if they win again, they will increase the pensions from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 3000.
The TDP government already hiked the pension from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 2000, this year with an eye on elections. Now, the TDP chief has gone further and promised to decrease the age eligibility for senior citizens so that others also can benefit from the state’s pension scheme. Not stopping at that, Chandrababu also is planning to announce free houses in 300 sq.yards for the poor where the government will take up the onus of constructing these houses.
According to TDP sources, this was told to all the party members in a teleconference. Furthermore, the TDP chief also said that TDP leaders should highlight how Jagan becoming CM of AP could turn out to be a disaster as he could grab people’s hard-earned lands and give way to land encroachments. “KCR wants Jagan in AP because he has understood that Hyderabad’s investors are looking at our state. He wants a weak government like Jagan’s so that Hyderabad regains its investors who will stay put in the city if AP doesn’t develop. This is exactly what KCR wants,” he told his partymen.
Stoking the “Andhra” sentiment again, Chandrababu said that the victory of even one YSRCP MLA or MP means that “we, the people of Andhra are letting KCR and KTR rule us,” he said, adding that people’s pension, water to drought-hit regions and farmlands and every other benefit will come to a grinding halt if Jagan comes to power. Looks like the ruling TDP is going all out to ensure that it retain power this time to complete all the pending works it began five years ago!
