TDP national president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu “may not visit New Delhi” in the next couple of days. As per his initial itinerary, Mr. Naidu is scheduled to meet the leaders of non-BJP parties in the national capital on Friday.
The change in decision comes in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that the Central government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) should revert by March 25 on the petition filed by the opposition parties seeking the counting of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips of 50% of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) before declaration of results.
Sources say that Mr. Naidu’s advocates have told him that “it is not necessary for him to be present in Delhi” given the time constraint and election schedule. Also, the non-BJP parties are busy in election preparation. Hence, the visit has been put on hold for the time being, sources say.
Mr. Naidu, being one of the signatories to the petition filed by the opposition parties, will reschedule his visit to the national capital based on the response of the Central government and the ECI. The TDP has been demanding that the use of EVMs be abolished and the ECI revert to the ballot paper.
Campaign schedule
Mr. Naidu will kick-start the election campaign in Tirupati on March 16. He is scheduled to address public meetings in Srikakulam (KR Stadium), Vizianagaram (Ayodhya Maidan, Maharaja College grounds), Visakhapatnam (Sarada Bakery grounds), Kakinada (Exhibition grounds) and Kaikaram in West Godavari in the next two days.