Naidu takes oath as first CM of residuary Andhra today

Two-time chief minister of combined Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu will be sworn in as the first chief minister of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh in Nagarjuna Nagar of Guntur district, 300 km from here, on Sunday at 7.27pm.

After state governor ESL Narasimhan finishes swearing in Naidu and his Cabinet colleagues, the new chief minister is expected to sign his first file pertaining to waiver of farm and self-help group loans, and also clear two more files—scrapping belt shops (liquor) and launching the NTR Sujala Irrigation Scheme. 

Elaborate arrangements have been made at the 70-acre open ground opposite the Acharya Nagarjuna University on National Highway 5 to accommodate about 5 lakh people.

According to TDP sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wished Naidu success, and expressed his inability to attend the swearing-in ceremony. However, Naidu's son Nara Lokesh told reporters in Guntur on Saturday that at least 12 Union ministers and six chief ministers would grace the occasion. 

L K Advani, Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu, Piyush Goyal, Prakash Javadekar, Nirmala Sitharaman and a few industrial giants are slated to attend the ceremony.

Separate daises have been erected for the swearing-in ceremony and the public meeting during which Naidu is to make his maiden speech as chief minister. South Central Railway is running special trains to cope with the additional rush to and from Guntur on Sunday. 

SpiceJet, too, will have a special flight on Sunday between Hyderabad and Gannavaram near Vijayawada at a special price.