Chandrababu Admits To Do Or Die Situation For TDP In AP Assembly Elections 2019  

Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said elections in the state were scheduled in the first phase on April 11 only to push him into a crisis.

"They thought I would be unprepared if less time is given for the elections so that I cannot face it and that it would be an advantage for them. They wanted to push me into a crisis but I converted it into an opportunity," the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief told a press conference here, the first after the election schedule was announced on Sunday.Indirectly attacking the Centre for the poll schedule, the chief minister said they wanted to beat him by giving little time.

"But you have helped me get benefit out of it. I am very happy for that," he added.

Replying to a question on the prospective alliance of parties at the national level, Naidu said a meeting of non-BJP parties would be held in New Delhi on Friday to discuss the issue.

"At the national level, we all thought as a coalition to work for the future of the country. But there are compulsions in different states. There is a national compulsion and there is a state-specific compulsion politically. We will weigh this and discuss this at our New Delhi meeting to reach an understanding," the TDP chief said.

The parties would discuss how to cooperate with each other in pre-election and post-election scenarios and draft an action plan accordingly, he added.

Over 3.71 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise for electing 25 Lok Sabha members and 175 members of the Andhra Pradesh assembly in the polls, the first after the state was bifurcated to create Telangana in 2014.

Asked about the TDP's fate in neighbouring Telangana, where Lok Sabha elections are scheduled on the same day, Naidu said the decision on whether or not to contest the polls was left to the party state unit.

"My priority is Andhra Pradesh. We have reached the crossroads. Now, TDP's victory is a historic necessity or else, we will face a lot of problems," he said.

The TDP was decimated in the Telangana assembly elections in December last year, which it fought in alliance with the Congress, CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti.

It won only two assembly seats, but one legislator has already crossed over to the ruling TRS.

PTI

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