Bandh evokes poor response in Anantapur, Sathya Sai districts

Anantapur-Puttaparthi: The bandh call given by TDP protesting the arrest of party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu evoked mixed response here on Monday.

The initial euphoria created by TDP and friendly Left parties and Jana Sena’s presence in the early morning faded away with the presence of police on the roads.

Emboldened by the police presence, more than 60 percent of shops and establishments opened and functioned normally evoking a mixed response to bandh. Although there is no official holiday declaration for schools, students’ poor turn out resulted in non-functioning of schools.

By afternoon there were no traces of the bandh.

RTC buses plied as usual under police supervision with least passengers.

Not many TDP or JSP workers were seen on the roads after 10 am. Comparatively, the traffic is less evident in the context of bandh call. For the first time, the fear of police gripped the TDP workers contrary to expectations that the bandh might turn violent due to jailing of their leader Naidu.

Petrol bunks were functioned as usual and no attempts were made to close government offices.

Traders who were reluctant to open their shops finally opened them as they did not find party workers imposing the bandh.

In Sathya Sai district too, there is no impact of bandh call given by TDP and supported by the Left and JSP parties. At some places, only JSP workers came out in the early hours of the morning while the TDP workers shied away from coming into the open.

By and large, the bandh evoked poor response in smaller towns like Gooty, Guntakal, Tadipatri, Puttaparthi, Rayadurgam etc. Even in Hindupur, bandh evoked partial response.

The senior leaders of TDP are conspicuous by their absence due to promulgation of section 144 and house arrest of leaders.

A sense of defeat overshadowed the party leaders and workers due to the unexpected hailing of their party president. This is a paradoxical situation when compared to the jubilant atmosphere pervading the TDP camp during the visit of Naidu to the district.

Tight security and elaborate police presence restricted political activity in the twin districts.