TDP good at playing test matches, says Nara Lokesh

• TDP leader took light of drubbing in GHMC polls and terms it as a one-day match using cricket parlance
• Says TRS made tall promises to woo voters in GHMC and it would cost Rs 60,000 crore to implement them
• Assures to play constructive opposition role in TS and hopes to win big in 2019 Assembly elections
• Attends meeting with TDP supremo and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Finance Minister Yanamala at camp office

Vijayawada: The Telugu Desam supremo N Chandrababu Naidu held a closed-door meeting with his son and the party national general secretary N Lokesh and the Minister for Finance Yanamala Ramakrishnudu here at the camp office on Wednesday. However, before meeting Naidu, the party leader Lokesh, interacted with the media persons, took light of the party’s debacle in the GHMC elections and maintained that the Telugu Desam was known for playing “test matches” and was not worried about the “one-day matches” like in cricket.

This was the first meeting between the father and son after the party’s debacle in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections where the party in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party had won just one seat out of 150 seats the alliance contested.

As the leaders were also holding meeting, the media flashed the news of the Telangana Minister T Harish Rao meeting the Telangana Telugu Desam senior leader Yerrabelli Dayakara Rao in Hyderabad. It is likely that the leaders have discussed the developments in the Telangana unit of the party in the light of the prediction of Yerrabelli’s exit.

Earlier, party leader Lokesh, during interaction with the media persons, took light of the party’s debacle in the GHMC elections and maintained that the TDP was known for playing “test matches” and less worried about “one-day matches” citing cricket. However, he said that party would take both victory and defeat in the same spirit and would get ready for the 2019 elections.

Lokesh said that the TRS was considering the TDP as the potential threat and had targeted the party. However, he said that the party would work hard in Telangana keeping the 2019 elections in mind. “We will go to the elections (2019) with young blood and come up triumphant,” he asserted.

The TDP national general secretary said that the TRS made tall promises during the GHMC elections to win the voters and said that TRS would require Rs 60,000 crore to fulfill those promises. He maintained that the party would play a true opposition role in Telangana and protect the interests of the people.

Referring to the Kapu agitation in the State, Lokesh said that the government had promised everything that was asked by the Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham. “What he wanted for Kapus was already promised by the TDP and the government is already going about its job,” he said citing the formation of Kapu Corporation and creation of Commission of Justice Manjunatha.