Combined polls inevitable: Laxman

Vijayawada: BJP Parliamentary Board member and Rajya Sabha MP Dr K Laxman said thatsimultaneous elections in the country are inevitable and predicted that BJP would achieve remarkable success in South India in the coming years.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP State office in Vijayawada on Thursday, Dr Laxman said India has emerged as the fourth-largest economy in the world under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the past 12 years. He said the people of the country had given Modi a third consecutive term, marking a new chapter in India’s political history.

He said the Modi government had ensured transparency through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, transferring nearly Rs 25 lakh crore directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts without middlemen.

He said the coalition government in Andhra Pradesh led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was working with the support of the Centre to accelerate development in the State.

He said the Centre had allocated about Rs 96,645 crore to Andhra Pradesh through devolution funds, Rs 25,660 crore for infrastructure and an additional Rs 3,320 crore for the Polavaram national project. The Centre has also provided immediate support of Rs 1,561 crore for the development of Amaravati, he added.

He also highlighted major railway allocations, stating that while the undivided Andhra Pradesh earlier received only Rs 880 crore in the railway budget, the State now receives Rs 10,134 crore. He said proposed high-speed rail corridors linking Hyderabad–Bengaluru and Hyderabad–Chennai would connect several Rayalaseema towns including Kurnool, Guntakal, Anantapur and Kadapa, boosting agriculture, agro-processing and industrial development in the region.

Criticising the previous YSRCP government, Laxman alleged that the State witnessed corruption and lawlessness between 2019 and 2024.

He also referred to attacks on temples and other incidents during that period.

He said the BJP–TDP–Jana Sena alliance was committed to transforming Andhra Pradesh into a “Swarna Andhra Pradesh” as part of the vision of a “Viksit Bharat” by 2047.

Referring to Telangana, he said political change in the State is inevitable and criticised the Congress government for failing to implement the six guarantees it had promised to the people. He alleged that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was focused mainly on pleasing the party leadership in Delhi.

Laxman said people were frustrated with both the alleged family rule of the BRS and the corruption of the Congress, and expressed confidence that the BJP would come to power in the State in the coming days. BJP state general secretary Ramesh Naidu, OBC Morcha State president Gopi Srinivas, party spokesperson Yamini Sharma and several other partyleaders were present at the press meet.