For leaders, who want to get up close with men and women, mornings are the best time in a gruelling summer.
On a cloudy Wednesday morning, former Minister and senior Congress leader Kanna Lakshminarayana launched his campaign at the library centre in Koretipadu. The former Minister, who was greeted by his supporters, soon got into his stride greeting men and women selling vegetables and tea on the road side.
A firm hand shake with a tea vendor had the latter smiling back. Mr. Lakshminarayana, a seasoned campaigner and a five-time MLA has a distinct style of no-frills campaigning. Having hit the campaign trail much ahead of his rivals, the former Minister accompanied by his close aides and party supporters, walked to every door step in Koretipadu, Hanumayya Nagar and Mutyala Reddy Nagar.
People greeted him warmly and Kanna reciprocates. “You have given me an opportunity to serve you for five years. I have fulfilled the promises made, including a water scheme to take care of the needs for the next 20 years, laying of all internal roads and drains and developing the residential colonies,” he said walking through the narrow lanes of Koretipadu and Mutyalareddy Nagar.
The senior Congress leader knows that he is treading a difficult path and this election is the toughest in his 25-year political career. After making a calculated move to shift from Pedakurapadu Assembly segment to Guntur West in 2009, Kanna has been making strategic moves to retain his hold.
The Congress fortunes have plummeted rapidly post bifurcation and Guntur itself has been a hub for a vocal and strident campaign for keeping the State united.
Leaders of the Telugu Desam Party and the YSR Congress are leaving no stone unturned to displace Kanna. The TDP which lost out narrowly in the 2009 elections is keen on fielding a fresh face while the YSRC had almost finalised the candidature of Lella Appireddy.
Kanna, though seems undeterred. “I am not someone who shies away from challenges. I am here to contest from Guntur West and confident of victory,” he says.
