Record polling on second day in Mahanadu

RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM (East Godavari district): The top leaders of the TDP were elated over the record turnout of people for the party’s Mahanadu here.

It is a crucial time for the party as elections to the State Assembly are due within one year. Beyond the expectations of the top leaders, a large number of party workers and fans flocked to the venue on the banks of River Godavari.

Braving scorching summer heat, thousands of TDP activists and supporters attended the Mahanadu. The TDP leaders and workers did not care about the severe temperature and the effect of Rohini Karte.

Party workers from the joint East and West Godavari districts, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Uttarandhra region and Rayalaseema districts came in large numbers.

The organisers announced earlier that they were preparing meals for 20,000 people on the first day of the Mahanadu (for the House of Delegates). But the situation changed drastically as people came to the venue voluntarily. With the record turnout, the organisers were compelled to prepare food for 80,000 people.

TDP’s Mahanadu meeting was a grand success on the first day with great enthusiasm. TDP chief Naidu himself expressed his happiness at the response of the activists and the efficiency of the organisers. He said that the enthusiasm displayed by lakhs of workers who participated in the Mahanadu provides proof for the future success of the TDP.

The TDP faced a lot of difficulties from the government in terms of mobilising people for the Mahanadu programme. They found it difficult to arrange transport for the activists due to the non-allotment of RTC buses and hurdles created to the attempts made by the party leaders to utilise the buses of educational institutions.

With this, the TDP leadership has called for everyone to arrange their own vehicles. This had a great impact on the party ranks. Cars, tourist buses, autos, and two-wheelers ply on the Rajahmundry road in large numbers. All roads were crowded since morning on Sunday.

Traffic came to a standstill at several places. Every vehicle approaching Mahanadu displayed the TDP flags. Bikes, scooters, autos, and private buses were also decorated with party flags.

The venue of the delegates meeting on Saturday and the public meeting on Sunday were at a distance of 1 km away at Vemagiri. The activists utilised the area in between for parking their vehicles and relaxed at the nearby gardens. Lachchalu, an activist from Srikakulam, told The Hans India that he had never seen such huge arrangements and such a heavy crowd for any Mahanadu in the past. Naidu himself and other leaders of TDP also expressed their happiness by mentioning the record crowd in the Mahanadu meetings on the first and second day.

On the second day, the temperature was about 48 degrees throughout the day. But by the time the NTR centenary meeting started in the evening, the winds blew. The sky was full of clouds and it started raining. Traffic jam was reported as hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the national highway.