Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and key Union ministers in Delhi on Thursday to seek special financial concessions for his state, aimed at fulfilling his populist election pledges.
The TDP with 16 MPs has emerged as a key ally in the ruling NDA, which the short-of-majority BJP banks on to run a stable government. Naidu, a master of coalition politics, has chosen to use his increased need in the ruling alliance to focus on his state, party leaders said.
“Today, I had a constructive meeting with the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri @narendramodiji, in Delhi to address important matters concerning the welfare and development of Andhra Pradesh. I am confident that under his leadership, our state will re-emerge as a powerhouse among states,” Naidu posted on X.
Naidu sought the Centre’s cooperation for:
Handholding of state finances in the short term
Support in the commissioning of the Polavaram National Irrigation Project
Comprehensive financial support for completion of the government complex and trunk infrastructure of the capital city of Amaravati
Incentives for industrial development
Consideration for an additional allocation under the scheme for special assistance to states for capital investment, targeting essential sectors such as roads, bridges, irrigation and drinking water projects
Support to the backward regions of Andhra Pradesh on the lines of the Bundelkhand package
Support for development of Duggirajupatnam port
After Modi, Naidu met home minister Amit Shah, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, commerce minister Piyush Goyal, agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, power minister Manohar Lal Khattar and 16th Finance Commission chairman Arvind Panagariya. He is scheduled to meet finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday.
Naidu has been demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh ever since the carving out of Telangana in 2014. After the Centre rejected the demand citing the 14th Finance Commission recommendation against it, Naidu is learnt to be pressing for a “special financial package” to complete big-ticket projects such as the Polavaram project and to make Amaravati the new capital.
After the Lok Sabha results, it was expected that Naidu would use the BJP’s depleted strength and the reliance on his party MPs to extract his pound of flesh in Modi’s third term. The TDP boss, however, settled with just one cabinet berth, the civil aviation ministry and two junior minister posts in the central government with party leaders indicating that financial assistance for Andhra remained his top agenda.
