Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu, who has been in jail for over a month, wrote a letter to the party workers from prison to "reiterate his commitment" to releasing the party's manifesto for Dussehra.
Mr Naidu, who was arrested on September 9 in the alleged multi-crore skill development scam, earlier, said he would release a "full-fledged" manifesto of the party for Dussehra.
In his letter to the party workers, the three-time Andhra Pradesh chief minister said he is "Not in jail but in the hearts of the people," emphasizing that his "primary focus has been the development and well-being of Telugu people."
Interestingly, the Mahandu event took place in Andhra Pradesh's Rajamahendravaram and Mr Naidu was later imprisoned in the Rajamahendravaram jail. He is currently in judicial custody.
The TDP chief alleged that the ruling YSRCP is keeping him away from people by "confining him in a prison" as they fear an election defeat, adding that attempts are being made to tarnish his image with fabricated conspiracies.
In his letter, Mr Naidu told the party workers that his wife, Nara Bhuvaneswari, will "advocate on his behalf during his absence" and will engage with people through a campaign called 'Nijam Gelavali'.
Meanwhile, the TDP chief's son and party's General Secretary, Nara Lokesh, slammed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in his X post.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Andhra Pradesh police not to arrest former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in the FibreNet case till it delivers judgment on the plea in the Skill Development scam case.
