Measuring first 100 days of performance of a Chief Minister of a State that has no capital, no infrastructure and a yawning revenue deficit may look a bit odd by any yardstick. Yet it has become an inescapable barometer to reflect and look at approval rating, from political leaders to CEOs, notwithstanding the challenges they face.
Troubled by “unscientific and politically motivated bifurcation of a prosperous State” and loss of a capital that was a cash cow, N. Chandrababu Naidu in his third stint as Chief Minister, though now of a truncated Andhra Pradesh, looks a shade fatigued as he faces the 100-day test, struggling to fulfil his long list of election promises and focuses on rebuilding a State from the scratch.
In his new avatar as a leader tilting towards populism, quite a transformation from being a poster boy of reforms, Mr. Naidu makes no bones of the challenges he is facing and shares them at every available public platform. “Yes I have crisis on every front but I see opportunity in each one of them,” he had been declaring. And this appears to have helped him in preparing people for a tough time ahead. For he now realises what it means to implement a gargantuan election promise like crop loan waiver involving mobilisation of thousands of crores with RBI, banks and the “friendly” Centre showing no signs of lending a helping hand. As a roll out of waiver still faces glitches the Opposition has critiqued him as, “a dream merchant hawking false hopes.”
Though returning to the NDA and sharing power with the BJP was a political master stroke, Mr. Naidu increasingly finds it tough to convince the Centre to be liberal with its assistance. But for the passage of bill that transferred submergence villages from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh paving the way for construction of the Polavaram multipurpose project, there is no big gain from the Centre. He has made three trips to New Delhi so far, but the special category status, Rs. one lakh crore for capital, Rs. 41,000 crore special grant, bridging of revenue deficit, special development package for seven backward districts, relaxation from Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act continue to elude him.
Feud with TSAdding to his woes is the running feud his government is having with the neighbouring Telangana over sharing of fee reimbursement, educational institutions, river water and power despite Governor’s attempt to broker peace.
Yet Mr. Naidu manages to retain his poise and unveils vision of transforming the state into “Sunrise Andhra Pradesh” through seven missions and five grids encompassing vital sectors, besides building a new world class capital. His grand vision includes 24/7 power supply to domestic and industrial sectors, a string of three megacities, 14 smart cities, a dozen minor ports, airports and IT hubs.
His appetite for governance in tact, he firmly stuck to his decision to locate the capital in Vijayawada and surrounding areas snubbing the Sivaramakrishnan Committee appointed by the Centre to examine potential locations. Perhaps it is his vision and steely resolve to move ahead overcoming challenges that seem to help vintage Mr. Naidu to pull through.
