Lok Sabha polls: Electoral hassles over; finally Narendra Modi, Chandrababu Naidu strike up a duet

HYDERABAD: After weeks of wrangling over seats and other issues, the BJP-TDP electoral alliance hit the campaign trail on Tuesday with TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu exhorting voters to ensure Narendra Modi becomes the next PM.

Modi couldn't return the compliment asking people to vote for Naidu as chief minister as the meetings were held in Telangana and TDP's main electoral battle is in Seemandhra. Modi, however, did tell the electorate to bring the BJP-TDP alliance to power in Andhra Pradesh and the NDA at the Centre.

In his speech at the LB Stadium here on Tuesday, Modi invoked Telugu pride and spoke of how the Nehru-Gandhi family had consistently treated its sons T Anjaiah, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and PV Narasimha Rao with contempt.

He revived the debate on Sardar Vallabhai Patel. "If not for Patel, I would have needed a visa to enter Hyderabad," he said, referring to the Iron Man's police action which ensured the Nizam did not merge Hyderabad state with Pakistan.

At times, it appeared Modi wasn't certain whether he was addressing the Telangana people or the people of both regions. "Congress is responsible for 1,100 people getting martyred for Telangana. It has wrecked the country and the region for the past 10 years. If you vote for them again, your future will be destroyed for good," he said.

Modi repeatedly targeted the "Maa-Beta Sarkar" at the Centre. "What kind of government do you want? Do you want one by the mother-son combination that has looted and destroyed the country? No, because they stand for bad governance which has destroyed everything" he said.

He added: "All the political pundits will be proven wrong. It's not arithmetic, but the chemistry of the people which will decide who will win. Arithmetic says we (Modi, Naidu, Pawan) are three, but chemistry will show that we are actually 111."

Modi concluded by invoking voters in the age group 18-28. "While in a student's life, the Class XII exam is what shapes his academic future, the age group 18-28 shapes a person's life. I urge you to pause before casting the vote. The decision will shape your future," he said.