Chennai/Coimbatore: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu campaigned for NDA candidates in Tamil Nadu, reaching out to Telugu-speaking voters while accusing the Congress and DMK of blocking the women’s reservation Bill. “The Congress-led DMK has defeated women’s empowerment,” he said, linking the issue to representation and political intent.Addressing a gathering on Monday, Naidu opened his speech in Tamil. “Looking at you, I can see the desire for change in Tamil Nadu. Do not worry. Change will come in 15 days,” he said before continuing his address in Telugu.Campaigning in Hosur for BJP candidate Nagesh Kumar in Thalli and AIADMK candidate and former minister Balakrishna Reddy in Hosur, Naidu questioned the DMK alliance’s record. “What has the DMK alliance achieved by defeating the Bill?” he asked, adding that the move stalled both women’s reservation and potential gains in parliamentary representation.He said the proposed delimitation could have increased Tamil Nadu’s representation. “DMK alliance leaders say they defeated Modi, but in reality, they have deceived women,” he said, calling for a “double-engine govt” in the state. He said delimitation would increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats and affect representation patterns across regions, while cautioning against using population as the sole criterion. Referring to earlier exercises, he said the process was frozen based on past census data and needed a balanced approach.In Coimbatore, speaking at an interaction with industry representatives and community members, Naidu said Tamil Nadu had not seen development in recent years and questioned whether Chennai could compete with Bengaluru and Hyderabad, while alleging rising debt and drug-related concerns.His visit forms part of a broader NDA effort, with MPs and MLAs from Telangana campaigning in different parts of Tamil Nadu to reach Telugu-speaking communities, including naidu, reddy, naicker and raju voters.
