2 weeks ago
93
The political slugfest among the frontline political parties and their leaders has hit the roof with no-holds-barred harangues against each other during the current Lok Sabha election campaign. Nothing is sacrosanct and nothing is off the table, anything goes to rouse the voters with both the mainstream and social media filled with political powwows. But on the ground, it is a stark contrast in Telangana.
Whether it is because of the sweltering heatwaves or the fatigue of the recently fought bitter State Assembly elections, there are no obvious signs of the prestigious Parliament polls being fought either on the main thoroughfares or in the interiors of the hinterlands of the state.
There are no overt display of party flags, loudspeakers blaring, festoons or small gatherings as everyone seems to go about their regular daily chores as the battle for the country’s leadership is not happening at all! This is quite apparent in Siddipet, Sircilla, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Medak and other parts of the north Telangana belt.
These form part of Medak, Karimnagar, Zaheerabad, Adilabad and Nizamabad parliamentary constituencies. Very few gatherings of BJP, Congress and BRS leaders could be witnessed in some places at Adilabad, Sircilla, Kamareddy and Nizamabad, while an odd campaign vehicle or so of the mainline parties could be seen blaring out election messages and slogans at some places.
“Parliament election does not witness much activity like Assembly or local body polls. Candidates contesting this election have fine-tuned their campaigns accordingly, also in view of the high day temperatures. Electioneering is either early from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. or from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. with temperatures hovering around 45° C,” says Sheikh Imran, a businessman at Nirmal.
“Even if the candidates want to take out a rally or a padayatra, there are no people on the roads to talk to because everyone wants to complete their work before noon and reach home,” says A. Bhaskar, a shopkeeper at Sircilla.
Congress party activist Ashok Goud points out that the public meetings and rallies by top leaders, including the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister and other top leaders, although slated for peak afternoon are only happening much later.
What is quite obvious, however, is the large-scale works of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) in many places where hordes of people — men and women covering their heads with white scarves — can be seen dredging the dried up water tanks as tractors ferry the nutrient rich soil to the farms.
“We get paid for the dredging work from 6/7 a.m. to about noon. Those keen on taking the soil should pay for the tractor. The political parties are reaching out to us at the workplaces,” avers a farmer Nakka Praneeth, Ragatlapally, Rajanna-Sircilla district.
During a tour of these areas which is witnessing a “triangular” fight between the Congress, BRS and the BJP or a “dual” contest between the BRS and BJP or Congress and BJP — depending on whom you are talking to, the main debate is - where will the minority vote go?
“The minority vote was divided between the BRS and the Congress during the last Assembly elections. Now, with the open communal tone of BJP candidates, it could be an advantage to the Congress. Many are also impressed with the manner in which Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has been responding to the issues and charges against his government as well as the party,” says Ahmed Ali Khan, a local reporter.
