After competing with each other to claim credit for the formation of the T State, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi are all set to sport a different cap to woo the electorate in Seemandhra.
As polling in Telangana ends by Wednesday evening, Congress and BJP managers have begun redrawing strategies to put the blame for the State’s bifurcation on their rivals and claim full credit for granting ‘special status’ to Seemandhra.
Modi will address six public meetings across Seemandhra, starting from Tirupati on Wednesday to boost the chances of the TDP-BJP combine in the region. Sonia will kickoff her campaign from Guntur on May 2 in a bid to breathe life into her party, which seems dead and buried in the region.
All eyes are, for now, on the much-publicised maiden meeting of Modi in Tirupati. As the meeting begins soon after polling ends in Telangana, political circles are abuzz with speculation on what kind of promises he might dish out to the people. The Tirupati meet assumes significance in the wake of TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao allegation that Modi, at the behest of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, was going to announce that he would make Hyderabad a Union Territory if voted to power. Though it is not clear if Modi or Naidu would really rake up the issue, TDP leaders say Modi would give some new assurances to Seemandhra. The TDP, which is waging a do-or-die battle in Seemandhra, is pinning its hopes on the six meetings of Modi — Naidu and Pawan Kalyan will also be sharing the dais with the BJP’s PM nominee at all these meetings.
Since the TDP’s internal surveys predict a close contest with the YSRC, the party managers are making all-out efforts to utilise Modi’s meetings to woo ‘undecided voters’. According to BJP leader, Prakash Javadekar, Modi will arrive address a meeting at the Tarakarama Stadium in Tirupati at 7.45 pm.
After an overnight stay, he will have darshan at Tirumala the next morning. From there, he will proceed to Srikalahasti to offer prayers. Later, he will address a meeting in Madanapalle at 10.50 am, in Nellore at 12.45 pm, Guntur at 2.50 pm and Bhimavaram at 4.30 pm.
At Bhimavaram, Congress leader Kavuri Sambasiva Rao will formally be inducted into the BJP. From there, at 6.55 pm in the evening, Modi will reach Visakhapatnam.
Meanwhile, Sources said Sonia is planning to address meetings in Guntur, Visakhapatnam and Hindupur. AP Congress leaders are also making efforts to organise road shows and meetings of Rahul.
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