Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest leaves the leader spot open ahead of Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls

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Andhra Samachar News Bureau
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Vijayawada, September  11, 2023: Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu was arrested on Saturday and sent to 14 day judicial custody by a Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court. Chandrababu Naidu was brought to Central Prison in Rajamahendravaram. The TDP chief has been accused in in a multi-crore corruption Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Scam case.

The septuagenarian politician has been granted provision of home-cooked food, medication and a special room, among other amenities. The former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh has also been provided with a separate accommodation inside the jail in view of the purported threat to his life. He is a Z-plus category security protectee.

Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh followed his father to the prison gates and waited outside for some time before leaving, reported PTI.

Ahead of the Andhra Pradesh assembly polls, the pot-shots TDP threw at Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on being a state chief out on bail, seems to have boomeranged on Chandrababu Naidu himself.

Who is likely to lead TDP, if not for Chandrababu Naidu?

The case has cast aspersions over heavy weights of the Telegu Desam Party, including Atchen Naidu, the president of the Andhra unit of the party and former education minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao. However, with either Atchen Naidu, or Ganta Srinivasa Rao, can TDP retain its charm ahead of the crucial polls?

Further, Chandrababu Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh is also likely to be investigated in the Andhra Pradesh Skill Development corruption case according to the reports published in livemint.com.

A long drawn legal battle would mean taking the sheen off the TDP in the run-up to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections that is scheduled later this year, and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

It would also mean confusion in the ranks with questions raised over the TDP’s ability to stage a comeback in Andhra Pradesh, in the absence of Chandrababu Naidu.

However, the Telegu Desam Party could decide to retain Naidu as their lead despite the former chief minister sitting in Rajamahendravaram central jail.

The TDP, however, believes targeting a leader in his 70s would translate into a sympathy vote for him, re-attempt of the 2003 strategy wherein Naidu used the Naxalite attack on himself as a poll point, only to loose the election to YS Rajasekhara Reddy-led Congress.

What is the AP Skill Development corruption scam case?

N Chandrababu Naidu was arrested in the early hours of Saturday from a marriage hall outside which his caravan was parked. He was produced in the ACB Court in Vijayawada on Sunday morning around 6 am.

According to officials, the case pertains to the establishment of clusters of Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of ₹300 crore. The agency officials also claimed that the alleged fraud has caused a huge loss to the state government in excess of ₹300 crores.

As per CID, the investigation has revealed irregularities such as before any expenditure by private entities, the then state government provided an advance of ₹371 crores, representing the entire 10% commitment by the government.

Most of the money advanced by the government was diverted to shell companies through fake invoices, with no actual delivery or sale of the items mentioned in the invoices, CID officials said.

In its remand report, the CID has said that according to the investigation so far, the total amount spent by private entities on six skill development clusters is sourced exclusively from funds advanced by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and AP Skill Development Center, totalling ₹371 crores.

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