The last Chief Minister of the undivided Andhra Pradesh Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is the BJP’s candidate for the Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency, said that the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance had collectively selected him as the candidate.
Speaking to the media at Kalikiri in Annamayya district on Saturday, Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy expressed confidence that the Rajampet MP seat and all the Assembly segments under it would be won by the alliance candidates in the upcoming elections. Claiming that the Rajampet parliamentary constituency had not witnessed development in the last five years, the former Chief Minister, who once represented the Piler Assembly constituency, said: “People know better than me what happened in five years in Rajampeta. After 2014, the main reason I am contesting elections again is to root out corruption,” he said.
Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a recipient of prestigious awards in five Islamic countries.” “Mr. Modi had forewarned in 2014 that Andhra Pradesh would suffer due to bifurcation. “Now, the State has turned bankrupt during the last five years. If loans are not taken from the RBI and the Centre every month, the State government is not in a position to pay salaries. The NDA wants to take this state forward. People of seven constituencies under Rajampet Parliament should give us full support,” he added.
Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy alleged that since 2019 after the YSRCP government came to power, land, sand and mining mafias were on the rise. “The Jagan Mohan Reddy government unleashed terror by filing false cases against those who came in their way. During the Tirupati byelection, 35,000 fraudulent voter cards were created. People’s representatives did what they should not do. As a result, the Collectors and the police officers were suspended,” he said.
The BJP leader demanded that the Election Commission order a CBI inquiry into the incidents. “The Tirupati incident is a challenge to the Election Commission. The Election Commission should keep a vigil on this. Voters should be given security and opportunity to vote freely. Seeing the corruption in the current politics, I am contesting again in direct elections. We will come to power,” he said.
Published - March 30, 2024 08:50 pm IST
