RAICHUR: The Congress and its alliance partners are employing every trick in the book to woo voters of different regions. On Friday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi was joined by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at a rally here to reach out to native Telugu-speaking voters who have settled in the bordering districts and form a formidable chunk in the seven Assembly segments of Raichur. Janata Dal-Secular patriarch H D Deve Gowda also lent his shoulder of support.
Ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s arrival, Chandrababu Naidu delivered a fiery speech to a roaring audience even as a few in the crowd waved TDP flags. Both Gandhi and Naidu lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hoping to swing votes in favour of the Congress candidate in a constituency where the contest is expected to be tight.
Raichur Lok Sabha seat has a voting population of over 50,000 Andhra settlers and the move by the Congress, especially MLC NS Bose Raju, to invite Naidu is with a definite intent of swinging votes in the coalition’s favour. Friday’s rally was the first time Rahul Gandhi shared the dais with Naidu this election season in Karnataka. Naidu enjoys a huge fan base in Raichur and his breakaway from the BJP had an impact in the 2018 Assembly elections.
In his address, Rahul focused on NYAY and employment, accusing the PM of failing to eliminate poverty and generate two crore jobs as promised. “The chowkidar goes everywhere and makes false promises. I am not here to do the same. I will deliver what I promise. The Congress, if voted to power, will credit `72,000 per year to 20 per cent of the poorest annually,” he reiterated. He added that while he would not promise to provide 2 crore jobs every year, his party will fill all the 22 lakh vacancies in government institutions.
Raichur being a backward district and solely dependent on agriculture, the NYAY scheme may find resonance as poor farmers have suffered the massive onslaught of grim and devastating drought. A farmer, Basavaraj, who attended the rally, said `72,000 seems promising as the amount will help bear the losses. With the money, poor farmers’ families can even hold weddings, he felt.
Gandhi accused Modi of looting people’s money and handing it over to Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. “In his rallies, the PM does not talk about his failures or why he helped Ambani in the Rafale deal. He only talks about national security. I want to ask him why he compromised national interest by preferring Ambani’s company and not HAL,” he questioned.
Chandrababu Naidu gave a strong call to all the Andhra settlers to vote for the Congress-JD(S) joint candidate B V Nayak. “There is an anti-NDA wave and in this storm, all the candidates will fly away from the victory,” Naidu remarked. He added that people across the country were badly affected by demonetisation and GST and many people lost their jobs. “The government’s five years of misrule has pulled down growth rate by 2 per cent,” he said. Naidu insisted that people of Andhra who live in Raichur, understand the misrule and vote for Congress.