TDP quitting NDA in 2018 not a mistake, says ex-Minister Ashok

Telugu Desam Party quitting NDA in 2018 was not a mistake, senior party leader and former Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapati Raju has said.

The regional party rejoining the alliance (NDA) was justified as BJP is saying it would do "something" for Andhra Pradesh, he added.

The scion of the Vizianagaram royal family said he did not retire from politics, but only chose not to contest the ongoing polls due to health reasons.

His daughter Aditi is vying for the Vizianagaram Assembly seat taking on the present YSR Congress legislator Kolagatla Veerabhadra Swamy.

Aditi is likely to face headwinds to some extent as former TDP MLA Meesala Geetha is contesting as an independent after being denied ticket by the former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu-led party.

"I don't think it (TDP leaving NDA in 2018) was a mistake. Because what had happened at that time (was that), there were certain commitments made in the legislation (AP Reorganisation Act) which needed to be attended to. Certain commitments were performed. Certain commitments were partly performed. So all this was there. We were a little impatient, probably on the pace of it," Raju told PTI.

After quitting the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in March 2018, the TDP also went on to move a no-confidence motion against the then NDA government in the Lok Sabha over the denial of "Special Category Status" for the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh and a host of other issues.

After a gap of six years, TDP returned to the NDA fold citing that the latter would be coming to power at the Centre which would help the state in terms of development.

Raju said as many as 11 institutions such as IIM and NIT and others were promised in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, for which land was allotted.

However, people in the state had decided to bring in a "non-performing government, and a time pass government" impacting the progress of the institutions, he said, hitting out at the present YSR Congress government.

To a query as to why the TDP decided to join NDA, Raju said though the UPA government brought about the AP Reorganisation Act in 2014, it could not implement it whereas the BJP promised that it will extend cooperation for the development of the state.

Lashing out at the YSRCP government, he alleged the works at the upcoming Bhogapuram Airport for Visakhapatnam were not progressing as fast as they should have.

He said the most satisfying thing in his political career was that right from his ancestors to himself, the dynasty was able to preserve Telugu culture and pride.

Vizianagaram, which was considered the cultural capital of Telugus is home for the oldest music college and Sanskrit and oriental language institutions, he said.