VIJAYAWADA: The first step to achieving the party’s goal of securing all 175 Assembly seats in the State should begin from Kuppam, the constituency represented by Opposition leader and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, YSRC President and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy told the party cadre on Thursday. The chief minister kicked off his programme to interact with the party rank and file of all 175 constituencies to guide them in the run-up to the 2024 elections.
In the first meeting held at his camp office in Tadepalli, he interacted with the cadre from Kuppam constituency. Jagan said if the party’s candidate in Kuppam emerges victorious, he would be given a berth in his cabinet. The YSRC party chief had earlier announced that MLC Krishna Raghava Bharat, son of former retired IAS officer K Chandramouli who had contested against Naidu in Kuppam, would represent the party in the next election. Jagan further assured the party men that his government would develop the constituency on a par with Pulivendula in YSR district.
“Stating that the people are of the view that Kuppam is TDP’s bastion, Jagan noted that BCs are dominant in the constituency and said it was YSRC who took the first step to accord them recognition by offering the party ticket to former IAS officer Chandramouli in the previous elections. “When Chandramouli was sick, I visited him in the hospital and assured to support his son. I made Bharat the MLC after his father’s death. It is now the public’s turn to support us in Kuppam and elect Bharat as their MLA,” Jagan said.
“People have a misconception that Naidu would win Kuppam, become the chief minister and develop the constituency. But the fact is that we have brought more development to the constituency in the last three years compared to Naidu during his five-year regime,” Jagan remarked. He said none of the villages in Kuppam had village secretariats, clinics or Rythu Bharosa Kendras earlier.
“We developed schools under Nadu-Nedu. We are also setting up village clinics,” he said, adding that his government would spend `65 crore to develop the municipality in the next two years. Jagan pointed out that while many questioned if they could win the Kuppam Assembly seat, they have already won all local body and civic polls.