VIJAYAWADA: What is the way forward for the TDP? Now, it is almost certain that the YSRC government will locate the executive capital in Visakhapatnam and High Court in Kurnool as part of decentralisation of administration.
The TDP, on the other hand, has intensified its agitation against the three-capital proposal. Will the TDP decision pay dividends for the party, which bit the dust in 2019 elections, in the coming local body polls? Even party leaders are not on the same page as Naidu.
TDP leaders from North Andhra, particularly from Visakhapatnam city, where the party bagged all four MLA seats, say it is natural for people to be happy if Vizag is made the capital. "People will rejoice even if a tahsildar office comes up in their locality. But when people think in the interest of the State, they will not accept the decentralisation of administration as it will lead to regional differences," an MLA claimed.
Maintaining that the capital issue may not play a key role, he said the ruling party always has some advantage in the local body elections. When in power, the TDP emerged victorious in various elections including the Nandyal by-election, he reasoned and claimed that the YSRC, within a short time of forming the government, is facing anti-incumbency.
"Multiple factors will affect the outcome of elections. If the capital was a key issue, then the TDP must have swept all the MLA and MP seats in Krishna and Guntur districts, but it lost even in Amaravati in 2019," he pointed out.
Asked about the demand of TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu that the government seek a fresh mandate on the capital issue, he replied there was nothing wrong in it. "Before the 2019 elections, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy did not announce his plan to change the capital from Amaravati. When he was the Opposition Leader, he even demanded construction of a mega capital city in at least 30,000 acres of land," he recalled.
When asked about the mood of Vizagites, another TDP leader said that realtors and those having own buildings are welcoming the proposal as prices of land will shoot up and there will be great demand for rented houses once the government employees shift to the City of Destiny. But, the common man residing in rented houses is worried, he said.
However, a senior leader from Rayalaseema admitted that the stand taken by the party in favour of Amaravati may hamper TDP prospects in the local body elections. The party will improve its prospects in the next Assembly elections as it is four-and-a-half-years away and the poll issues will be different by then, he opined.
Except in Guntur and Krishna districts, where, despite the debacle in general elections, the party managed to bounce back with the decision of the government on capital, the party will have to be prepared for losing the local elections in a majority of the districts not only because of its stand on capital but also the advantage the ruling party has in terms of machinery and other resources, he explained.