RSS within TRS might sound strange. But, this is how members of an organisation styled as RSS (not Rahstriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological platform of BJP) are identifying themselves while campaigning for TRS in the elections. What is RSS in their parlance? It is actually Rythu Samanvaya Samitis constituted by TRS government with membership of farmers from village to State-level. They are supposed to be coordination committees of farmers to aid marketing and other services in agriculture. The farmers who owed allegiance to the TRS and members of RSS have conveniently used the name of the organisation to campaign for the party. This has put the TRS in an embarrassing position. A party which professed itself to secular values has found itself in a piquant situation.
Asad campaigns for TRS
Candidates are resorting to novel ways to attract the voters of different communities tapping the influential people among them. Malkajgiri candidate of TRS, Marri Rajashekar Reddy, and his father-in-law, who is Labour Minister C. Malla Reddy, met MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi requesting him to personally campaign in the constituency that has huge Muslim population.
Since Mr. Owaisi was busy in campaigning for himself in Hyderabad constituency, he shot a video along with Mr. Malla Reddy and Mr. Rajashekar Reddy expressing his personal and party support. The video is now being circulated widely on social media.
1,209 app complaints
The poll authorities’ decision to deploy technological tools inviting citizens to complain about violation of model code of conduct is paying good dividends. The poll authority registered 1,209 complaints through the Apps, especially those like cVIGIL, deployed to enable citizens to bring violations to its notice. Of these, inquiries confirmed that over 60% of them (793) are correct while probe is underway to identify the genuineness of others. The State received highest number of complaints under cVIGIL in the Assembly poll and the trend appears to be continuing. The development is a pointer to the alertness of the citizens who keep themselves abreast of the happenings around them, not as perceived to the contrary.
(N. Rahul, R. Ravikanth Reddy, M. Rajeev)