HYDERABAD : As the election day draws closer, parties are intensifying their campaign, focusing on their strengths and weaknesses. Adding to the headache of the candidates and cadre are internal surveys and their predictions, which keep changing by the day.
Nevertheless, the three big parties — the BJP, Congress and BRS — are leaving no stone unturned to impress the voters.
The BJP, for instance, has upped the ante with its intense campaigning. Its national leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda and star campaigners have been visiting the state, addressing public and corner meetings, and holding roadshows. In an attempt to reach out to every voter, the party has also formed booth-level committees.
The saffron party’s national leaders have reportedly informed their state counterparts that their candidates have an edge over their rivals in at least 10 Lok Sabha constituencies.
Nadda reportedly told the state leaders to focus on door-to-door campaigning to secure as many LS seats as possible in the state. He is also believed to have instructed the contesting candidates and leaders to avoid group politics and work unitedly to ensure the party’s electoral success.
The Congress, which has been commissioning several internal surveys, too believes that it has an edge in 10 seats. While Chief Minister and TPCC president A Revanth Reddy has been addressing two or three meetings per day, including roadshows, the second-rung leaders are working hard at the ground level to secure a majority of LS seats.
The state leaders are hoping that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, who are scheduled to campaign here in the coming days, will further boost the party’s prospects. They are also expecting that the return of some leaders, who left the party before the Assembly elections, will further strengthen the grand old party.
Meanwhile, the BRS is reportedly focusing all its energies in four segments where it has a fair chance of securing a victory as per its internal surveys. It is hoping to outdo the Congress and BJP in these segments, some of which could witness a three-cornered contest.
The destiny of candidates will, however, depend on how the parties’ campaign in the last 10 days and their respective election management vis-a-vis distribution of poll slips and last-minute voter outreach.