The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Congress, TDP's novel campaign in Penukonda

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 27, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Congress, TDP's novel campaign in Penukonda

Staff Reporter

Procession with kin of violence victims taken out; women to be polling agents

ANANTAPUR: The Congress and Telugu Desam Party are trying to out-smart each other in the byelection for the Penukonda Assembly constituency by adopting innovative methods in electioneering as well as for the polling scheduled on June 2.

With a view to exposing the TDP's "factional killings" in the constituency during the last 10 years the Congress took out a procession in the streets of Penukonda on Wednesday with kin of the victims of factional violence. Each one of them had a tale to tell.

Among those who participated in the procession were the victims of TV bomb case of Maddelacheruvu, Shadnagar double murder case and scores of others. The two parties are also trying to cover as much ground as possible by conducting road shows with the occasional door-to-door canvassing. The TDP sources stated that the party president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, had decided to keep himself away from the electioneering in Penukonda, so that the candidate and other leaders could cover as many villages as possible in the time left.

Besides, the two parties are also encouraging defections at village and mandal level on a large scale. The Congress appears to have benefited mostly from the exercise as it is in power.

The Congress Ministers, J.C. Diwakar Reddy and N. Raghuveera Reddy, are not hesitating to shower promises on housing, ration cards, seed supply, drinking water among others, caring too little for the election code of conduct.Mr. Raghuveera Reddy on Thursday promised supply of seed groundnut on subsidy from June 10 at Gollapalli village in Penukonda mandal. Meanwhile, the TDP is learnt to be planning all women as its polling agents to minimise the threat from the rivals.

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