SHH GUP CHUP!

Visakhapatnam : The campaign has come to an end. Microphones have fallen silent. In the next 48 hours, the focus would be on micromanagement of polls.

From top notch political leaders to actors and candidates, both the Assembly and Lok Sabha campaign witnessed a beehive of political activity for almost about 60 days from dawn to dusk.

With a lot of political drama unfolded in the state, the battlelines for the battle of Kurukshetra, as the ruling party and Opposition call it, were drawn and top leaders canvassed in an aggressive mode across the state.

The campaign was so intensive that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi held roadshows in NTR Krishna district and addressed a few public meetings. For the first time I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, CPM national general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI national general secretary D Raja and others addressed a public meeting in Vijayawada.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, TDP chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Jana Sena Party president K Pawan Kalyan, BJP state president D Purandeswari and several other leaders campaigned notwithstanding the heatwave conditions.

Political bigwigs planned their electioneering in a meticulous manner, sticking to a tightly-packed schedule, utilising the time well for the purpose. From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, actors Kushboo Sundar, Nandamuri Balakrishna and Namitha to Chandrababu Naidu and K Pawan Kalyan and Ram Charan, etc, campaigned for the NDA alliance, laying emphasis on the lapses of the current government.

Jagan Mohan Reddy took out a whirlwind tour across the undivided districts to grab the attention of the voters in favour of the YSRCP. Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee chief YS Sharmila and Congress Working Committee member Shashi Tharoor too made their presence felt in the districts.

The electioneering in the erstwhile Chittoor district, comprising 14 Assembly segments and three parliamentary constituencies, completely revolved around the welfare schemes and rampant corruption.

Both the ruling and the Opposition parties have tried to impress upon the people on their welfare initiatives in a bid to win their hearts. At the same time, the TDP has levelled serious graft charges against the YSRCP.

Modi stressed that the NDA government will develop the Rayalaseema region which was neglected in the present mafia Raj.

In the joint East Godavari district, candidates from the NDA Alliance, YSRCP and Congress party are contesting. Purandeshwari from NDA, Gidugu Rudra Raju from Congress and Dr Guduri Srinivas from YSRCP are contesting for the Rajamahendravaram MP seat. The Prime Minister also addressed a meeting here. The Pithapuram Assembly constituency had become cynosure of all as Jana Sena chief K Pawan Kalyan is contesting. Ram Charan, Sai Dharam Tej, Varun Tej, Vaishnav Tej, and Zabardast team of actors campaigned in support of Pawan Kalyan at the segment.

What caught the attention of the voters this time was the family split in Jagan Mohan Reddy’s family. APCC chief YS Sharmila, her cousin and daughter of Y S Vivekananda Reddy, Dr Sunitha Reddy went hammer and tongs against Jagan and appealed to the voters not to vote for him. Even Jagan’s mother Y S Vijayalakshmi who is now in the US in a video appealed to voters to vote for Sharmila for Kadapa Lok Sabha seat.