Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu will be sworn-in as the first chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state at a grand event at 7.27 pm on Sunday.
The Nagarjuna University between Vijayawada and Guntur may have never witnessed a crowd such as the one on Sunday where Naidu will be sworn in as the first chief minister of the state following bifurcation of Telangana along with 19 of his cabinet colleagues.
Apart from the mammoth crowd, VVIPs and other dignitaries, after a long time will we get to see a united show by the family of N T Rama Rao. The likes of Balakrishna, Jr NTR, Harikrishna and other family members will be present at the event.
The chief ministers of various states, senior NDA leaders such as L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, will attend the event. However, the main opposition leader YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekara Rao will not attend despite being personally invited by Naidu.
Naidu has decided to induct only 19 cabinet ministers on Sunday. In Andhra Pradesh, the permitted strength of cabinet ministers is 26. The number is 18 for Telangana.
Although many say Naidu would announce the new capital of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, it is very unlikely that he would do so. A TDP source said, "Expect the new capital to be anywhere around where Babu (Naidu) is being sworn-in."
Naidu will function from Hyderabad for the time being, but would create makeshift offices at the Nagarjuna University where he is being sworn in.
Naidu is only the second leader in India's history to become the chief minister of two states -- United Andhra Pradesh and now Andhra Pradesh after the bifurcation of Telangana.
The only other leader to hold this distinction is N D Tiwari who was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and then Uttarakhand after the bifurcation.
The President's Rule which was in place in the state for two months was withdrawn from Saturday midnight.
Naidu will be sworn-in at Nagarjuna Nagar between Vijayawada and Guntur in a ceremony which many are estimating would cost Rs 30 crore.
Naidu is taking oath as a chief minister for the third time. He was CM of the united Andhra Pradesh for two terms.
The TDP leader has a long road ahead of him. He has to literally start from scratch. He has this huge task of building a new capital and the people will rely on his experience for the same.
Naidu will always be credited with the development of Hyderabad which he had turned into a world class city.
Naidu would also look to shrug off the image of being mainly pro-urban and to showcase this the first file he would sign is the waiver of farmers’ loans. He intends waiving off loans to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore. He says that he will do this in a phased manner.
However, YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy will stay away from the oath talking event citing too much pomp and show.
He alleged that when a new state was being born there was no need to spend Rs 30 crore on the swearing-in ceremony. He said that the money should be spent on building a new capital and developing the state.
Image: TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu paying floral tributes at the samadhi of party founder N T Rama Rao earlier on Sunday
Photograph: SnapsIndia
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