At Patancheru, a few women were found sitting on the roadside chapta of a closed shop. All of them reside in the nearby slum area and were hired to campaign for a political party. They were also served food on Sunday afternoon and were expected to take part in a meeting that was held in the evening.
But, unable to walk till the meeting venue, they decided to sit there for some time and then return home.
Are they going to vote for the party that hired them? No, was the ‘firm’ answer from them. “We know whom to vote for. My neighbour got flood assistance of ₹10,000 while we were denied. There are several such examples in our area itself, leave alone other places. Why should we vote for them?” asked the women, who preferred not to get identified.
After a long time, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has become active again, with large number of party activists participating in election campaigns with yellow coloured flags in hand, recalling the contribution of the party in the area’s development.
Many voters feel that the competition is between the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) though Congress is also vying for a seat.
Busy with hectic schedule on the last day of campaign on Sunday, second ring leaders of various parties sought votes by moving from house to house while contestants took part in road shows and bigger meetings.
Finance Minister T. Harish Rao campaigned on the last day in all the three divisions. “Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is the true Hindu in India. He has performed several yagas and homas. The Brahmin Corporation was established with a corpus fund of ₹100 crore. Telanana is the only State in India where priests are being paid ₹6,000 per month,” he said at Bharathi Nagar while addressing a Brahmins’ meeting.
“This (November 29) is the day Srikanthachary had sacrificed his life for Telangana. This is the day Mr. KCR sat for his fast unto death and achieved Telangana State. While BJP has cheated people in the name of one vote two states, Congress was responsible for the death of 1,200 students. Why did the BJP fail to develop Bihar, where it was in power three times?” he asked, alleging that BJP has been trying to create religious tensions in Telangana and divert investments to Gujarat and Mumbai.