Naidu pitches development and governance as core poll agenda in TN

Vijayawada: Invoking the cultural and historic ties between Tamil and Telugu people, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday campaigned across Tamil Nadu in support of NDA candidates. Pitching development and governance as the core poll agenda, he urged people to vote for NDA.Recalling the association between former chief minister and TDP founder N T Rama Rao and AIADMK founder and former CM M G Ramachandran, Naidu referred to initiatives such as the Telugu Ganga project that supplies drinking water to Chennai. He said cooperation between the two states is essential for mutual development and called upon Tamil and Telugu people to "work together like brothers to achieve shared progress".He toured Coimbatore, Krishnagiri, Virudhunagar, Madurai, and Chennai as part of his two-day campaign on Tuesday, during which he addressed public meetings, held roadshows, and interacted with local traders, businesspersons, and representatives from various sectors to mobilise support for NDA candidates. Party candidates from constituencies including Coimbatore North, Coimbatore South, Singanallur, Kaundampalayam, Sulur, Thali, Anna Nagar, T Nagar, Villivakkam, Sattur and Kovilpatti participated in the campaign events.Referring to recurring water disputes between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Naidu proposed river interlinking as a permanent solution and specifically mentioned the Ganga-Cauvery river-linking proposal. He urged voters to support the NDA to make such projects a reality. He also criticised the DMK's stand on women's reservation Bill and delimitation, alleging that the party failed to protect women's interests. He explained the Centre's proposal to increase parliamentary seats by 50% irrespective of population, stating that it was aimed at addressing concerns of southern states in a population-based delimitation exercise.