Parties intensify poll campaign

Hyderabad, April 9: The political parties in the state have stepped up their campaign with just five days left for the first phase of elections.

The battlelines have also been drawn for the second phase as the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Wednesday. The Congress star campaigner and the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, was busy shuttling between Telangana and North Coastal Andhra while the Mahakutami has been organising series of meetings in Telangana.
The alliance meeting at Mahbubnagar on Thursday was impressive while the previous meeting in Suryapet came a cropper. Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi on the other hand was believed to have been advised to shift his focus to Andhra and Rayalaseema regions as the PR’s performance is likely to be poor in Telangana when compared to the two other regions.
“Chiranjeevi’s whirlwind tour will help the party consolidate its position in Rayalaseema, in particular the Chittoor district, and coastal districts, particularly from Srikakulam to West Godavari,” a senior PR leader pointed out.
The Congress got a shot in the arm with Chief Minister’s son and Kadapa Lok Sabha candidate, Mr Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, drawing huge crowds wherever he was campaigning. Mr Jaganmohan had so far toured Chittoor, Prakasam and Guntur districts besides Kadapa. Mr Chandrababu Naidu’s son, Mr Lokesh too has been campaigning extensively in his father’s constituency Kuppam.
The political parties have been redrawing their campaign strategies following changing trends. The TD sources said the party was concentrating more on Telangana region till now will bring back Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore on its radar. The party is also expecting to stage a comeback in Srikakulam.