The South India times
Spl Correspondent
Unprecedented crowds drawn by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s `Idemi Karma Manarashtraniki’ (why this fate to our state) rallies appear to have caused considerable concern to the ruling YSRCP party in the state.
A stampede at one such rally on Wednesday which witnessed a tragedy resulting in eight deaths and several others receiving injuries, adds to the woes of the Jaganmohan Reddy-headed government.
The TDP program was a counter to the ruling YSRCP’s ‘Gadapa Gadapaku ManaPprabhuthvam’, (our government reaching out to every household) which was spearheaded by none other than Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, in a bid to abreast the people how his government during the last three years could fulfill all its electoral promises.
It has ignited state politics as Jagan Reddy’s intentions were loud and clear to put his party machinery in election mode, though they are still two years away. But, the counter-campaign launched by his bête noir Chandrababu Naidu, turns out to be more lethal and poses a real challenge to his claims.
The sudden surge in NCB’s support, despite the party suffering humiliating defeats in almost all elections held after 2019, is more surprising to many. When many political analysts looked more than confident of YSRCP’s return to power for the second term appears certain, the surprise turnaround among the people makes the upcoming polls more interesting.
What is more interesting is that though the TDP might have lost its many leaders, the cadre remained intact, in both the Telugu states, even after bifurcation.
The tragedy in the rally at Nellore happened when two rival groups within the party mobilized a good number of cadres and activists for the roadshow. People were brought from Ongole and other rural parts of the districts by the two leaders. And, Naidu in his rallies sharpened his criticism when he said “the CM is throwing just Rs 10,000 to people and is looting Rs 10,000 crore seems to catch up with the people’s imagination.”
What is more surprising is that on hearing the tragic incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh exgratia to each of the kin who lost their lives as a result of the stampede. “Rs two lakh exgratia will be given to each from PMNRF to the next of kin of each and the injured would be given Rs 50,000,” PMO India said in a tweet. TDP Chief too has announced Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the killed and instructed his party leaders to ensure the best of care to all those injured In the same breath he blamed the government’s failure to ensure some order among the unprecedented crowds gathered at his road show by the police. In other words, he put the onus on the YSRCP government for the tragic incident. People reportedly gathered in large numbers at Naidu’s road show when the mishap took place. Some jostling among the public during the meeting has led to a stampede-like situation at the canal, police claimed to quote preliminary investigations.
