TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu will continue to represent Kuppam in the Legislative Assembly, according to his son and party national general secretary Lokesh.
Mr. Lokesh was addressing a roadshow in Kuppam on Friday as part of his whirlwind campaign for the municipal election.
“Though I was asked to contest from Kuppam, I brushed aside the proposal. Mr. Naidu will continue to represent Kuppam. He will be the Chief Minister of the State again,” Mr. Lokesh said.
Alleging that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had not visited Kuppam in the last couple of years, Mr. Lokesh said the government had deliberately scuttled the development of the Kuppam region by not releasing funds.
“Kuppam is like a temple. People here have always supported peaceful conduct of elections. But the YSRCP has resorted to intimidation of people and has indulged in large-scale electoral violations,” he said.
Dig at police
Accusing the police of working for the YSRCP, Mr. Lokesh said they had placed barricades in V. Kota and Shantipuram mandals to prevent the TDP cadres from entering Kuppam.
“The police have so far filed 11 cases against me. I will face any number of cases for the sake of people,” Mr. Lokesh said, and exuded confidence that the TDP would win the municipal election by bagging majority wards.
Meanwhile, mild tension prevailed in Lakshmipuram ward in Kuppam when a group of YSRCP cadres tried to block the convoy of Mr. Lokesh.
It took an hour for the police to pacify both sides and restore order.
