Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu set the tone for the 2019 general and state elections by coming down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led centre.

Naidu also said that the BJP had let down the people of Andhra by failing to give the state special category status.

“They are talking about coming to power in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other states, but they failed to come to power in Karnataka. The BJP will not be in power in 2019," Naidu told Telugu Desam Party (TDP) workers, party leaders and legislators during the inaugural session of the party’s three-day Mahanadu (plenary) in Vijayawada on Sunday.

Naidu said the centre had failed to give Andhra Pradesh enough funding for its upcoming capital Amaravati and also for other things such as the Polavaram national irrigation project.

“They talk about bringing back black money, but the person who cheated and took money from Punjab National Bank (PNB) has even left the country. Even the goods and services tax (GST) has only become a burden for the common man," said Naidu.

This year’s plenary will be important as the TDP will also pass political resolutions pertaining to the 2019 elections on the third day of the programme on 29 May.

TDP had broken its pre-poll alliance (before the 2014 general elections) over the issue of funding to Andhra Pradesh and also over the special category status. After protesting for about a month in Parliament against the centre for doing “injustice" to the state in the 2018 Union budget, the TDP finally exited the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Naidu alleged that the BJP is hand-in-glove with the main opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which has also been demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh post the bifurcation of the state and the creation of Telangana in 2014.

“The assurances given to the state in Parliament were not fulfilled by the centre, but we will fight for our rights. The TDP has always worked for Telugu people, regardless of whether they live in the US, Australia or the Gulf. We will make Andhra Pradesh an innovation valley and a knowledge-based economy," said Naidu.

Several other TDP leaders addressed the gathering at the plenary. TDP MP Jaydev Galla called the BJP “anti-women and anti-minority". “Demonetization was not planned properly and a lot of people suffered because of it. We thought the centre would get back black money but what we have also is lost," he said, referring to the recent scam by businessman Nirav Modi.

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