Hyderabad: Congress chants Ram, Ram; steals thunder from BJP

Hyderabad : It seems the Telangana Congress is making a bid to usurp ‘Lord Ram’ away from the BJP. Coinciding with the Sri Rama Navami festival, the Congress candidates in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections began efforts to project themselves as strong Hindu devouts to counter BJP party candidates. From chanting ‘Jai Sriram’ slogans along with their family members during the festivities to using Lord Ram’s name in their social media campaign were part of the political activities of the Congress candidates in the Lok Sabha segments.

Some Congress contestants went further by praising Lord Ram in their social media campaign as an embodiment of ideals and a beacon of light for implementing the 6 Guarantees to usher in ‘Ram Raj’ in the Congress ruling Telangana state. Fearing distribution of Ayodhya Ram‘s ‘talambralu’ by the BJP at the doorsteps of voters could win their support, the Congress candidates began countering by using Lord Ram abundantly in their posts.

The new campaign technique adopted by the Congress drew the public’s attention despite an aggressive drive by the BJP.

Mahbubnagar Congress candidate N Vamshi Chand Reddy along with his family attended a day-long puja at a Ram temple in his constituency and was busy posting his videos on social media in the wake of his BJP counterpart DK Aruna already taken up a campaign appealing to people to vote for her party by highlighting the party’s Hindutva ideology.

Nagarkurnool Congress candidate Mallu Ravi has taken up an innovative campaign by releasing colourful posters by describing the Telangana will usher in ‘Ram Raj’ by the Congress government. “BJP candidates in Mahbubnagar and Nagarkurnool were strong enough and the ongoing RSS campaign at the village level is a big worrying factor for Congress in the two segments,” said a political observer. Congress candidate from Bhongir Lok Sabha segment Ch Kiran Kumar Reddy also attended puja programmes in the various places in the segment to prove himself a strong Hindu devotee. BJP candidate B Narasiah Goud already announced his visit to Ram temples in the Parliamentary constituency on the festival day. “Congress is considering the BJP as a strong opponent in the majority of the segments.