I have drawn a roadmap for the development of Vizag: Sribharat

Visakhapatnam: A roadmap has been set for the development of Visakhapatnam as NDA Lok Sabha candidate and president of GITAM Sribharat Mathukumilli strongly believes in letting his actions do the talking.

In an exclusive interview with The Hans India, Sribharat, who holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and a joint MBA/MA degree from Stanford University, mentions that a number of long pending issues that continue to exist in Visakhapatnam are prompting people to think. As the YSRCP government failed not just in ironing out the existing issues but also added a new set of problems, Sribharat opines, the candidate who wins as an MP in Visakhapatnam will have a larger responsibility to shoulder.

Exuding confidence that he is certain to emerge victorious in 2024 polls, Sribharat, who is fighting against YSRCP LS candidate Botcha Jhansi Lakshmi, says that he will focus on seven top priorities to look into once he takes oath as the Lok Sabha member.

Even as he lost with a low margin in the last elections, Sribharat says that he is pretty organised this time and the alliance with Jana Sena and BJP would further enhance his winning chances, that too with a huge majority, in 2024 polls.

“Setting up of the new railway zone with Waltair division, halting strategic sale of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) which is considered as the elixir of Andhra people, making Visakhapatnam a drug-free city and developing it into a peaceful destination by bringing down the crime rate, working towards reducing port pollution by incorporating smart technology, developing the city into an IT, tourism and industrial hub form a part of my priority list,” Sribharat shares.

Explaining the role of youth in 2024 polls, the Lok Sabha candidate opines that the anti-incumbency factor is more apparent among them as the YSRCP government failed in providing job opportunities to them. “However, considering the views of the youth, the combine manifesto included the creation of 20 lakh job opportunities. While the projects across the State came to a grinding halt on one hand, the State has become debt-ridden on the other. In order to overcome mounting debts, it is important to maintain a cordial relation with the BJP and the alliance with the national party would play a pivotal role in more ways than one,” Sribharat reasons.

Much before he was announced as the Lok Sabha candidate, Sribharat commenced his campaigning and began exploring several nondescript villages apart from colonies in the urban region. Sribharat's family members, including his mother, and wife Tejaswini, are extending a great deal of support to his poll campaigning. For quite a long time, he has been getting closer to the people of Visakhapatnam, taking stock of their woes and devising ways to resolve them.

About the three capitals, Sribharat wonders how the YSRCP government could set up three capitals when it failed to establish even a single capital city in the past five years. “The decentralisation move is nothing but farce as the YSRCP’s sole agenda is to 'kill' Amaravati,” adds Sribharat.