A huge turn-out at Telugu Desam Party national president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s public meetings in Annamayya and Chittoor districts has come as a shot in the arm for the Opposition party, after the debacle in the 2019 elections.
Senior party leaders admitted that they had expected a crowd of around 25,000 to 30,000 people at Madanapalle on July 6, but the turnout was around 2 lakh. Similarly, the impressive attendance of the cadres and public at Mr. Naidu’s roadshows at Nagari, the bastion of Tourism Minister and local MLA R.K. Roja, was another shocker to the party.
A huge turn-out at Telugu Desam Party national president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s public meetings in Annamayya and Chittoor districts has come as a shot in the arm for the Opposition party. huge turn-out at Telugu Desam Party national president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s public meetings in Annamayya and Chittoor districts has come as a shot in the arm for the Opposition party, after the debacle in the 2019 elections.
Senior party leaders admitted that they had expected a crowd of around 25,000 to 30,000 people at Madanapalle on July 6, but the turnout was around 2 lakh. Similarly, the impressive attendance of the cadres and public at Mr. Naidu’s roadshows at Nagari, the bastion of Tourism Minister and local MLA R.K. Roja, was another shocker to the party.
A similar scenario that unfolded at Karveti Nagaram, the home turf of Deputy Chief Minister K. Narayanaswamy, has encouraged the TDP cadres to advance further despite the harassment faced by them earlier.
The organisers of the Madanapalle meeting said that people attended in large numbers despite heavy downpour, and waited patiently even as Mr. Naidu was reportedly late by more than one and half hours. Seeing the crowds, Mr. Naidu himself observed that it was for the first time he could see such a huge assemblage at his meetings in Madanapalle. Coming to Nagari, the TDP cadres expected a crowd of about 10,000 to 15,000, but the turnout was triple their anticipation.
Responding to the development, senior TDP leader and party’s State organising secretary Venkateela Surendra Kumar termed the elections “a do or die battle” of not only the cadres but the public against the “suppression of public voice.”
Brushing aside the criticism of the ruling party that the crowds “were managed” and “paid category”, Mr. Surendra Kumar said: “Even the police know that we had not deployed any private or RTC buses. A majority of vehicles were cars and two-wheelers owned by those coming from the surrounding areas of Madanapalle. The TDP is certainly not in a position to bring paid crowds or mobilise vehicles, given the harassment that the party is subjected to from the ruling party,” he said.
The three-year rule of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had thrown a blanket of fear and despair among a cross-section of people, while it had also brought unity among the TDP cadres, he said. The success of Mr. Naidu’s meetings is a reflection of the people’s vexation at skyrocketing prices, non-availability of sand, and plummeting economy, followed by growing unemployment among youth, the TDP leader maintained.
Responding to the upbeat mood among the TDP cadres, a senior YSRCP leader in Madanapalle attributed the crowd-pulling factor to the discontent among the people for not making Madanapalle the district headquarters of Annamayya district, but giving the lucky chance to Rayachoti, which is “above a panchayat and below a municipality.” The assurance of the TDP that Madanapalle would be made a district also contributed to a favorable situation for the TDP.
Responding to the crowds at Nagari, it was observed that despite being a Cabinet Minister, Ms. Roja had only earned the wrath of local people as Nagari was not merged with Tirupati district.
