NARSANNAPET (SRIKAKULAM): Three days after her son was sent to jail, Vijayamma hit the dust trail in north coastal Andhra district of Srikakulam on Wednesday accompanied by her daughter Sharmila. And it was Sharmila who stole the thunder at the road shows with women and youth standing dangerously on rooftops, craning their necks out to have a glimpse of YSR's daughter.
"Nenu Rajanna koothurni, Jagananna chellalni. Na peru Sharmila" (I am YSR's daughter, Jagan's sister. My name is Sharmila), she introduced herself to the crowd, who clapped and cheered her lustily, as Sharmila along with her mother made her first public appearance outside faction-ridden Pulivendula. Addressing the enthusiastic crowd from atop her late father's `prachara ratham' (make-shift campaign bus), Sharmila said the time had come to bring back 'Rajanna rajyam' (YSR rule) and make Jagananna the chief minister of the state. "My brother was implicated and arrested in a corruption case. Those who are laughing at our plight should be taught a fitting lesson," she said, raising her voice, much to the delight of the crowd.
In her bid to milk the YSR sentiment, Sharmila also talked about the injustice meted out to her family by the Congress high command. "My brother will walk out from jail victoriously and fight for you. He will solve all your problems and restore all the welfare schemes of my father," she thundered and pleaded with the voters to defeat both Congress and TDP. As the campaign vehicle surged ahead, Sharmila held aloft a ceiling fan (YSR Congress Party symbol) asking the people to vote for the party and waved to the milling crowds in the typical fashion YSR would do.
The roads were chock-a-block with thousands of screaming Jagan fans, with traffic coming to a grinding halt at several places as the Vijayamma ratham moved on. While Sharmila's baptism into electoral politics was smooth, Vijayamma looked out of sorts as her tepid speech failed to enthuse the crowd. "She did not capitalize on Jagan's arrest issue. She did not focus much on how the Congress had pushed her to come out of her house . She was found wanting as her speech lacked the punch," said Dola Krishna Murthy, a pan shop owner in Narsannapet.
Vijayamma fails to impress crowd
In fact, the eight-km-long road show from Madapam to Narsannapet witnessed a huge turnout, but Vijayamma's speeches in muffled voice fell far short of expectations of the people and YSR Congress leaders and cadres.
Vijayamma said she came to explain to people what her son has got in return for what her late husband had done for the Congress. "You are the ultimate judges. They (read Congress) sent him to jail since they wanted him out of the way till the byelections are over," she said, adding that she has a responsibility to ensure re-election of those who had stood by Jagan. She also raised the bogey of YSR's death in a chopper crash and the lingering doubts among people. "Braving heat, large number of people came to see their 'amma.' But it remains to be seen whether the crowd turnout will translate into votes on June 12," said Nalla Kurma Naidu, a Telugu literature student. Sources said the crowd were mobilized from other parts of the district and even from neighbouring Vizianagaram and Bobbili.
Vijayamma and her daughter later campaigned in Payakaraopet constituency in Visakhapatnam district.
Vijayamma will visit Ramachandrapuram in East Godavari on May 31, tour Narasapuram on June 1, Polavaram on June 2 and Prathipadu in Guntur district on June 3, YSR Congress leader Talasila Raghuram said.
from times of india
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