ust a week left to reach out to the electorate for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls, the city on Sunday saw key campaigners of all the major political parties hitting the campaign trail.
While cavalcades of some leaders, contestants and their supporters criss-crossed the city arterial roads, others busied themselves with door-to-door campaigns, contact programmes and distribution of leaflets. Flocked by supporters, the contestants were seen venturing out into lanes and by-lanes of their wards knocking each door, offering greetings and handing over a pamphlet.
If IT Minister K. Taraka Rama Rao and Nizamabad MP K. Kavitha sought to reach out to the electorate on behalf of the TRS candidates, the Telugu Desam Party campaign on Sunday was spearheaded by Nara Lokesh himself.
Mr. Rao’s cavalcade on a road show wend its way through different parts of the city and covered Ayyappa Society, Vivekananda Nagar, Moosapet and Allahpur. As the pink flags fluttered and crowds gathered along different points of the route, the IT Minister took a pause and addressed them urging for an opportunity for the TRS in the civic body polls to propel the city on the path of development. Ms. Kavitha went campaigning at Ramanthapur, Ram Reddy Nagar and other places, and held a series of interactions with the local residents.
As yellow got painted along his road show route, Mr. Lokesh too hit the campaign trail drawing crowds at different points, including at A.S.Rao Nagar and Anand Nagar crossroads, and sought support for the TDP to ensure the growth and development of the city.
In hard-hitting speeches, Mr. Lokesh said if the TDP was a political party that was the development of Hyderabad, the TRS was one that was hell bent on demolishing the Twin Cities. The TDP’s national general secretary did not mince words in accusing Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of asserting that he would demolish the State Secretariat, Osmania General Hospital and the Chest Hospital to pave way for skyscrapers. “Hyderabad has 400 year chequered history, but I am here to talk only about 40 years of Hyderabad development. A casual search on the internet will throw up Charminar, Buddha Statue on Hussainsagar and Hitec City. Barring Charminar, the credit for other two goes to the TDP,” he said, taking a dig at Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao.
The Congress leaders too went campaigning, and former Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha led the effort at Patancheru, promising his party’s support on local issues.
