Hyderabad: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Thursday that he had never asked Telugus staying in Karnataka to vote for any particular party in the May 12 Assembly elections. He said that he had only asked them not to vote for a party which had done injustice to AP.
Mr Naidu’s statement acquires significance as it comes on the day the campaign ends in Karnataka. He is travelling in Kurnool district.
On April 30, speaking at the Dharma Porata Deeksha in Tirupati, Mr Naidu had said: “I am appealing to all Telugu people in Karnataka to defeat the BJP, which is resorting to collusion politics and conspiracies in Karnataka elections”.
AICC president Rahul Gandhi also tried to woo the Telugu voters of Karnataka, assuring them that the Congress would grant special status to AP once it came to power at the Centre.
Speaking to mediapersons at Bengaluru on Thursday, Mr Gandhi said the Congress government, it is formed, will implement all assurances that were given to Andhra Pradesh during bifurcation.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the Telugus of Karnataka were supporting the Congress. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had cheated the people of AP on special status, and Telugus are angry with him.
