'Naidu paid price for urban focus'

PUNE: Andhrites in the city have held Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s neglect of rural areas and farmers responsible for the Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) humiliating electoral defeat on Tuesday.
“He focused too much on the information technology (IT) sector and paid the price for neglecting rural areas,� they said.
Said consumer products distributor and Kalyaninagar resident, Suryanarayan, who hails from Rayalaseema: “Though Chandrababu did some good work, it was city-centric.�
“The booming IT sector did create job opportunities in Hyderabad, but Hyderabad does not represent entire Andhra Pradesh,� said he.
Suryanarayana expressed the hope that the Congress government, which is to come to power now, concentrates on the needs of the rural populace and basic infrastructure.
Said C. Ramesh, assistant research officer, Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Khadakwasla, “Although Naidu had launched hi-profile programmes in the health and irrigation sectors, little of it actually reached the people.�
Ramesh, however, admitted that the IT sector, which Naidu had assiduously built over the years, would feel the impact of his exit.
For Telangana-native priest Shripad Joshi, the victory of the Congress and its ally, the Telegana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), holds the prospect of a separate Telengana state. He hoped that despite the initial hiccups, the formation of the new state would come through and help in it’s development.
Printing press worker Muralikrishna said, “The farmers in the state were suffering due to the drought and Naidu did little to better their lot. He even stopped free power supply to farmers.�
TDP sympathisers in the city were, naturally, disappointed at Naidu’s loss. Retired central excise and customs department employee B.K. Sastri, said, “It is shocking to see a competent chief minister lose by such a huge margin.�
Said National Society for Clean Cities (NSCC) president D.V.R Rao, who hails from Rajamundry in the East Godavari district, “Naidu’s defeat is a classic case of measures taken for the state’s economy not translating into votes and popular support on the ground.�