Vijayawada: BJP, Congress vie with each other to woo voters

Vijayawada : With just 14 days left for the campaign to end, top leaders of the two national parties, BJP and the Congress are now working out plans to converge on Andhra Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit the state on May 7 and 8. On the other hand, the former AICC president Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are also contemplating to visit the state and address a few public meetings before May 10. The AICC in consultation with the state unit is working out the programme schedule for the visit of these two leaders.

It may be recalled that the state Congress which has been in hibernation for the last ten years is now trying to revive itself and is contesting all the 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats.

The state president YS Sharmila, who is spearheading the campaign against the YSRCP government, is contesting from the Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency against her cousin Avinash Reddy. She has taken up a massive campaign and is exposing her brother and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s omissions and commissions and is openly asking the voters not to vote for YSRCP.

She has also been rebutting the comments made by Jagan regarding the colour of the saree she had worn saying that no one has any proprietary rights over yellow colour and by wearing it she cannot be alleged to be close to TDP.

She said Sakshi paper owned by Jagan also has yellow colour on the top. She even asked Jagan if his wife Bharati Reddy had ever worn a yellow colour saree. It is unfortunate that her own brother was making such comments, she said.

In the backdrop of this, it remains to be seen what line Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi would take during their public meetings. Will they go whole hog against the government or will they be confined to Modi bashing?

On the other hand, the national BJP party in consultation with state unit is said to be finalising Prime Ministers Modi’s speech which is likely to include some specific assurances on issues like privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Polavaram project and development of Amaravati as the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. He is also likely to tear into the manifesto of the YSRCP and the performance of the government.