Chandragiri flashes cricket card to woo youth

Tirupati: Vote-bank politics has touched the cricket turf in Chittoor district. The YSRCP is making all-out efforts to win the young voters by organising cricket tournaments and distributing cricket kits.

The party leaders feel that this will help them in having an upper hand in the elections and they hope that the young voters will vote for them. YSRCP sitting MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy has declared a bonanza of Rs 14.5 lakh cash along with trophy in the name of YSR Grameena Cricket Tournament for cricket-playing youth. However, it is huge expenditure as far as organising a constituency-level cricket tourney is considered.

Interestingly, political game between TDP and YSRCP has been pumping adrenaline among the party candidates Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy as well as TDP candidate Pulivarthy Nani and their followers. While the TDP has been harping on the achievements of the government in bringing several industries to the district and creating jobs for the local youth, YSRCP has chosen the sports as a way to win over youth.

As part of this, the YSRCP MLA organised the Mega Grameena Cricket Tourney on Wednesday. Regularly practising youth below 21 years of age were selected for the tourney teams.

Every year MLA Bhaskar Reddy had been conducting the cricket tournaments at constituency level in Tummala Gunta ground. Whereas this year, the cricket tourney is being planned at mandal level covering the youth of Chandragiri, RC Puram, Chinnagottigallu, Tirupati Rural, Pakala and Yerravari Palem mandals. Presently, 9,880 cricket game playing youth under 21 age have registered as 619 teams for participating in the 3-day Grameena Cricket tourney.

The MLA is utilising this event to prepare a data bank which would include the personal details of all the players and their family members. But will it really get him the benefits he is expecting? The youth to whom The Hans India spoke brought out some interesting facts. About 60 per cent of the participants only have right to franchise. The remaining 40 per cent are not eligible for votes.

Some players, including team players particularly from the rural mandals said that it was appreciable that the MLA was conducting such an event. But then if one expects that this would ensure en-masse voting, it may not happen. “Every one of us have our own ideas and assessment of the political parties and will chose the party we feel was best for the development of the state. We are participating in the tourney with sportsman spirit. Politics and sports are different tracks,” one player said.