Naidu skips Jagan's swearing in; KCR, Stalin to come

Telugu Desam Party chief, Nara Chandrababu Naidu has decided to send a team of three senior party leaders to wish chief minister-elect,YS Jaganmohan Reddy at his Tadepalli residence on Thursday on the eve of his swearing-in as second chief minister of the residual state. Naidu, who was unanimously elected TDLP leader by the legislature party on Wednesday, will not be attending the ceremony to be held at the Indira Gandhi stadium in Vijayawada.

Party leaders Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Payyavula Keshav and K Achennanidu will meet Jagan. “There is no specific reason for our leader to skip the ceremony. If the function was at the Raj Bhavan, he would have attended the swearing-in ceremony. But it is in front of the general public where Jagan will be addressing the crowds. It is not a tradition for the opposition leader to attend such a public affair,” Keshav told a TV channel.

While Jaganmohan Reddy has personally met and invited Telangana CM, K Chandrasekhar Rao, he made phone calls to TDP Chief Naidu, DMK chief Stalin, Janasena Chief Pawan Kalyan and his elder brother Chiranjeevi. Stalin and KCR will be attending the ceremony.

Arrangements for the event were completed under the supervision of state Chief Secretary LV Subramanyam. Seating arrangements were made for 40,000 invitees and general public. Around 10,500 passes have been issued. Huge LCD screens have been erected outside the stadium for the public to view the ceremony.

A day ahead of taking over the reins from Naidu, Jagan has spent time in the famous shrines of different religions. He offered prayers in the hill shrine of Sri Venkateswara Swamy in Tirumala during the morning hours. He entered the temple through Vaikuntham Queue Complex where he was applied 'Tirunamam' and was accompanied by TTD EO, Anil Kumar Singhal to the sanctum sanctorum. Later he offered prayers before the presiding deity and also prayed in the sub-shrines of Vakula Mata, Bhashyakarulavaru, and Yoga Narasimhaswamy and made offerings in Srivari Hundi.

He then left for Kadapa where he offered Chaddar at the famous 'Aminpeer Dargah'. Later, he participated in special prayers at the CSI Church in Pulivendula, his assembly constituency. After offering tributes at his father’s resting place, Idupulapaya, he returned here. He also offered prayers at the Kanaka Durga temple here.