Give me a chance, Jagan urges people of Andhra

Kakinada, March 11 (IANS) A day after the Election Commission (EC) announced the poll schedule, Andhra Pradesh's main opposition YSR Congress party on Monday kicked off its poll campaign, with the party chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy urging people to give him a chance.

Addressing a rally in this town of East Godavari district, he promised to provide corruption-free and good governance.

Simultaneous elections to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and the Lok Sabha are scheduled on April 11. A main contender for power, YSR Congress has decided to contest all 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats on its own.

He told people that the YSR Congress will be completing nine years on Tuesday and this period was tough for the party leaders and cadres as the parties in the power subjected them to severe hardships

Jagan, as the Leader of Opposition is popularly known, called upon people to teach a lesson to the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which failed to fulfill the promises made in previous elections. He alleged that the TDP harmed the interests of the state by continuing as an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for four years.

It was only near the elections that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu remembered people, he said.

The YSR Congress leader alleged that the TDP compromised with the Centre over the special category status. He said the TDP government was neck-deep in corruption and urged people to use the power of vote for a "silent" burial of the TDP.

Jagan promised that his party would be different from the ruling party as it would ensure that the fruits of development and all the welfare schemes reach the targeted sections of the society.