Amid Telangana related protests, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Hyderabad to kick-start the southern election campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday. Under the banner ‘nayi soch nayi umeed’(new thought, new hope), he will address a conclave at the Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium in Hyderabad at 4 pm.
The Andhra Pradesh BJP is hoping to make the best of this programme and says that the fortunes of the party will change for the better. The unit has decided to put up a united front for the even.
Earlier, there were rumours that the Rayalseema and Andhra workers of the BJP would stay away from the event on the Telangana issue. However, all the BJP workers from the Seema-Andhra regions have started arriving at Hyderabad for the Modi conclave.
The event is expected to go off smoothly and the Telangana issue is likely not to cast a shadow over the event. “Modi's presence is good enough to pull a lot of votes as he is the preferred choice for Prime Minister in a majority of the state,” Kishen Reddy the party's chief in AP told rediff.com.
Hyderbad is flooded withy hoardings of Modi and to add to the extravaganza, 3D screens are also being put up. These screens would be put up at 15 different locations. While many expect that the Telangana issue may cast a shadow over this event, the state BJP disagrees.
Some BJP workers from the Andhra and Rayalseema belt have threatened to stay away from the event as they feel that the party has been a strong supporter of the Telangana movement.
Modi is however not expected to go too deep into this subject and would focus largely on national issues and the problems caused by the United Progressive Alliance.
There is heavy security in all parts of Hyderabad as it is expected that anti-Telangana activists may try and disrupt the event to make themselves heard during this highly publicised event.
Image: Senior Andhra BJP members meet Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Photograph: SnapsIndia
