VIJAYAWADA: BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao said the Telugu Desam Party suffered a debacle in the elections because of its “corrupt governance and high-handedness”. Admitting that his party’s performance in the polls was far below than expected, he added the saffron party was on ‘Mission 2024’ to grow as a potential political alternative in Andhra Pradesh.
In a press meet here on Friday, GVL noted that though the BJP could not fare well in the poll fight, it was able to counter the TDP’s lies. “The results show that the people did not buy the Telugu Desam’s arguments against us and we were successful in countering them. The reason for the TDP’s humiliating defeat is corruption and arrogance of its leaders, including Chandrababu Naidu’s. I hope they introspect, at least, now,” he said.
GVL also reviewed the performance of his party in the State elections. “Even though we did not perform as expected, we are confident of becoming an alternative in Andhra Pradesh,” he said, citing the example of Telangana, where the BJP tasted a defeat in the Assembly elections last year, but won four seats in the Parliamentary results announced on Thursday.
In Andhra Pradesh, BJP candidates lost their deposits and registered a total vote share of 0.84 per cent and 0.96 per cent in Assembly and Parliament elections, respectively.
To a question on his party’s stand on YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s demand of Special Category Status (SCS) to the State, GVL said AP could ask Centre’s assistance and that the Centre will respond appropriately.
He also hoped that the YSRC government would offer good governance to the State as promised by its chief Jagan.