Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad   

Road show galvanises Congress cadre

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, OCT. 10. Normal life in Asifnagar took a backseat on Sunday. Instead, it was an endless line of four-wheelers, fiery speeches and huge gatherings at almost every junction and along the roadside that greeted the onlooker.

Scorpios, Safaris, Qualises, Skodas, Sumos, open-top Mahindras, not to forget the dull grey police jeeps, apart from throwing the traffic off-track, screeched through the streets..

Earlier, a festive mood had manifested itself in a colourful, and of course, loud manner right from 8 a.m. in the narrow lane beside Mahavir Hospital at AC Guards. The makeshift stage, of which many more were seen all along the road from Chintal Basti to Band Lines, had a Congress worker pleading for votes for the party's knight in the October 13 poll, Danam Nagender.

Naidu-bashing

The mood changed into one of frenzy for the party cadre as the Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, drove down to the starting point of the campaign from the airport, where he had landed from Maharashtra. Waving at supporters and crowds that jostled on the roadside to see him, Dr. Reddy, apart from advocating Mr. Nagender's cause, engaged in a fair amount of Naidu-bashing and listed out the priorities and achievements of his Government as well.

As the van carrying Dr. Reddy, Mr. Nagender and other Congress leaders negotiated its way through the lanes and by-lanes of M.G. Nagar, Pochamma Basti, Bazaar Ghat, the smelly chicken market in Nampally, Sevaknagar, Poosalabasti and Darussalam among others, Congress flags and banners declaring `Danam mana Pranam' welcomed them.

Hard day's work

If the traffic came to a standstill every time the convoy hit the main road after covering the slums and interior areas of Asifnagar, the city police too had a tough day.

There were police who ran alongside the convoy right from morning till 7 p.m., when the campaign finally came to an end at Band Lines, apart from the several who ignored the hot sun controlling the crowds on the roadside.

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