The city and district witnessed huge processions, road shows and hectic door to door campaigning by contestants for the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly as canvassing for Wednesday’s election came to a close.
Flags of all colours were seen as party workers and supporters took to the streets making a last ditch effort to woo the voters.
Congress candidate for Visakha South Assembly constituency Dronamraju Srinivasa Rao organised a massive procession consisting of nearly 5,000 party workers and supporters from Jagadamba junction to the old town. Pulivesham and Kolatam troupes, fancy dress artistes, drummers and others were part of the procession. Every woman in the rally was sporting a cap and holding a Congress party flag.
Dadi Ratnakar, YSR Congress candidate for Visakha West, also took out a big rally in the constituency area.
Motorcycle rallies, small processions, publicity vehicles blaring out slogans and recorded speeches of candidates, small groups distributing pamphlets on the roads were seen everywhere. Residents had to attend many callers as their doors were knocked by supporters of every serious contender from their Assembly segment. Recorded calls from the contestants to the mobile telephones were made frequently.
Senior leaders like M. Venkaiah Naidu of the BJP held road shows for Lok Sabha candidate K. Haribabu and the Assembly segments’ candidates from Telugu Desam while YSRC candidate Y.S. Vijayamma with daughter Y.S. Sharmila too participated in road shows.
The candidates met groups of people from different castes, professions and localities to remind them last time to vote for them.
Late in the afternoon people heaved a sigh of relief as the din of the canvassing came to an end and the traffic on the roads, which went haywire at several places thanks to the rallies, was back to normal.
Meanwhile, the police and excise officials intensified their searches as the contestants are likely to distribute money, liquor and other inducements to the voters a day before the elections.
