In the two months since they assumed office, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu reflect distinct styles of governance — a KCR brand of functioning versus Brand Naidu.
While KCR is sitting pretty with Hyderabad under his belt and a strong brand to build on, Naidu is banking on his personal image to draw investments to Andhra Pradesh, while still grappling without a capital and the lack of an office chamber in the Secretariat.
KCR, with his oratory in English, Urdu and Telugu, sways the people and carries them along with his wit and wisdom. And Naidu, in his inimitable style, seeks to convey the new State’s concerns and how the Telugu people have been divided. Both mince no words when it comes to blaming each other, especially given the current concerns on sharing of resources. Be it scrapping a power purchase agreement or fee reimbursement, there is hardly any convergence point.
In the past couple of weeks, Naidu has offered to sit with KCR, who was once in the TDP, and thrash out the issues between the two States.
But on Wednesday, KCR took a dig at his counterpart and said Naidu wants to build a capital spending crores but has no money to meet students’ fee reimbursement and loan waiver for farmers. He taunted him further, saying, “Compete with us (Telangana) in development.”
Naidu and KCR have decided to deviate from the traditional approach to hosting the Independence Day event. Normally, the I-Day parade is held at Parade Grounds in Secunderabad. As both cannot hold the event at the same location, Naidu announced his decision to host it at Kurnool. And KCR surprised everyone when he decided to host the I-Day parade at the historic Golconda Fort, now being decked up for the event.
Though both have made assurances and built up hopes, it is to be seen how many of the promises will be fulfilled. Naidu wants to develop AP’s capital on the lines of Singapore, while KCR wants Karimnagar, his home-town, to become like New York.
Hope for cooperation Last Saturday, both the leaders met at Begumpet airport, while waiting to receive President Pranab Mukherjee. They shook hands, exchanged pleasantries after a long time, and interacted with the Governor, giving the people hope that the estranged leaders will perhaps come together and work with mutual cooperation to resolve various issues.