Modi ‘campaign PM’, BJP won’t return to power in 2019: Chandrababu Naidu

Naidu also remarked that the Congress won’t be able to form the next government on its own and stressed that regional parties had “able and capable leaders” who would play important roles after the polls. His comments came a few days after he shared the stage with leaders of several regional parties at the swearing-in of H D Kumaraswamy as chief minister of the Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka after a bitterly fought election that threw up a hung verdict.

The party president said the TDP was key in forming the United Front government in 1996. “The TDP has in the past played a key role in forming governments. It has the power to change the political narrative in the country. We won’t step back,” Naidu stated.

The TDP supremo explained that he called off his participation in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance because BJP retracted on its promise to grant Special Category status as well as its failure to implement the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. Naidu accused the central government of betraying on its promises and alleged that it attempted to create law and order problems in the state.