HYDERABAD, 17 September — The opposition Congress party yesterday launched a 16-day protest campaign in Andhra Pradesh vowing to expose the "misrule" of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

Rival Congress factions overcame internal bickering to jointly kick off the anti-government campaign at a public rally near Kurnool, 200 km from here.

Congress leader Y.S. Rajsekhara Reddy, who leads the party’s legislators in the 294-seat state assembly, led the rally. M. Satyanarayana Rao, who heads the party’s unit in the southern state, addressed another protest meet at Nandyal.

The Congress campaign seeks to take Naidu to task for his "unfulfilled promises", including over irrigation projects that were earlier started during his seven-year rule but did not take off.

Other Congress leaders led party demonstrations in other cities, asking the state’s 76 million people to oust Naidu’s government.

The Congress campaign follows a scandal over the illegal diversion of rice worth billions of rupees, extended by the central government under a work-for-food scheme, allegedly by some ministers in Naidu’s government.

The opposition party is also lashing out at the TDP government alleging its relief work in the drought-affected areas has been tardy, and for forcing farmers to cough up electricity dues.

The Congress favors providing free power to the farmers, saying the move would cost only three billion rupees that could be adjusted in the 420 billion rupees annual budget.

Reddy, who has been under fire for allegedly being soft on Naidu, launched the anti-government campaign by planting saplings at Belagal near Kurnool.

It was at Belagal that Naidu had laid the foundation stone four years ago for the Guru Raghavendra Swamy irrigation scheme. Work on it is yet to start.

Said Reddy: "Naidu has made many promises in seven years but never fulfilled them. We want to expose this government." During the 16-day campaign, Reddy will tour eight districts.

Congress state unit president Rao flagged off the campaign at a public meeting at Nandyal and called for the TDP’s overthrow.

This is the Congress’ biggest anti-TDP campaign since the last assembly elections in 1999 when it won only 90 seats. Free electricity for farmers was one of its key campaign planks.

The next assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh are due in 2004.

The TDP predictably dismissed the Congress campaign as a "gimmick".

"The 14 Congress-ruled states too do not provide free electricity to farmers," said a TDP leader. "Its demand is bogus."