High-voltage last lap likely in T’gana polls as big guns hit campaign trail

HYDERABAD: With only four days to go before electioneering ends for the December 7 Telangana polls, political parties are set to unleash their star campaigners for some high-octane campaigning.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which does not have any stake in coming to power in the state, is not taking it easy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address a rally at Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad on December 3. This is the second time that Modi will be campaigning in Telangana; he addressed rallies at Nizamabad and Mahbubnagar on November 27.

Though Modi did not spare the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) from attack in the first leg of campaigning, his prime target was the Congress-Telugu Desam Party (TDP) alliance. A victory for the alliance in Telangana will boost Opposition attempts to forge a national anti-BJP front.

The BJP is fielding many of its stalwarts, one being Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath who will be addressing a series of rallies Sunday in Tandur, Sangareddy, Medchal and Goshamahal. Yogi will return on December 5 for a second round of campaigning in Karimnagar and Warangal, said party officials.

BJP president Amit Shah will address rallies at Narayanpet, Kalwakurthy and Kamareddy, and hold road shows in Malkaigiri on Sunday. Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Purushottam Rupala and Jual Oram are also slated to campaign. Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh and Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyothy participated in rallies in Hyderabad and Nizamabad on Saturday.

On the other side, Congress president Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address rallies at Gadwal and Tandur on December 3. Efforts are also underway to get UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to address another public meeting on December 5.

A VICTORY FOR ALLIANCE IN TELANGANA WILL BOOST ATTEMPTS OF OPPOSTION TO FORGE AN ANTI-BJP FRONT AT NATIONAL LEVEL