Y.S. Sharmila’s back to back road shows and meetings in the Greater Hyderabad region on Sunday came as a morale booster for the local YSR Congress Party candidates and their cadre. As part of the “Jana Bheri” programme, Sharmila campaigned in the Assembly constituencies of Jubilee Hills, Khairatabad, Sanathnagar and Serilingampally. Unmindful of the heat, impressive crowds turned up at the meeting venues.
At the first meeting at Yousufguda check post, she was accompanied by Jubilee Hills candidate Kotimreddy Vinay Reddy and Secunderabad LS candidate Syed Sajid Ali. Minorities and migrant workers from Andhra and Rayalaseema formed a major chunk of the crowd here. Sharmila mostly concentrated on the welfare schemes of her father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
“Being a Muslim, I was associated with the Congress party previously but I am disillusioned with them now. I am going to vote for YSRC since they have been talking a lot about our development,” said S. Shahid, a local trader who came along with a dozen friends.
Some were taken by surprise by the crowd at the meeting venues. “In the last two decades or so, I have never seen such a big meeting here. We were not even prepared for it,” said M. Raju, a pan shop owner.
The next road show was at B. S. Maktha which falls under Khairatabad constituency. As Sharmila and Khairatabad Assembly candidate P. Vijaya Reddy waded through the congested by-lanes of the locality, the locals started joining the convoy. “Please vote for my sister,” appealed Sharmila hugging Vijaya Reddy atop a campaign van which was followed by thunderous applause. “After this show, I am very confident Vijaya is going to win looking at the crowd response. Two days back, sitting MLA Danam Nagender held a meeting here but the crowd was not even half of what it was today,” said N. Ranjit, one among many youngsters dancing gleefully to the campaign songs.
