Last week, Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh witnessed an unusual sight. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy CM and JanaSena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan, and state minister Nara Lokesh took auto rides to launch the “Auto Driver Sevalo (in the service of auto drivers)” scheme.

Over the years, auto drivers in the state, estimated to be around three lakh, have emerged as a key voting bloc both for the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy -led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which provided an annual financial assistance of Rs 10,000 to them under the “Vahana Mitra” scheme during its tenure.

“Just like Delhi ’s 90,000-odd auto drivers were seen as key to the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), there is enough evidence to suggest that they, along with taxi drivers

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