AP minister breaks Pawar’s record in campaigning

A woman minister in Andhra Pradesh, who is seeking re-election to the state assembly, has broken Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s record as she campaigned in 100 villages in 12 hours.

Galla Arunakumari of the ruling Congress party campaigned extensively in her Chandragiri assembly constituency, claiming a place in the Limca Book of Records.

The minister for medical education and health insurance broke the record of central Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who had covered 65 villages in 12 hours.

Arunakumari, who is pitted against film actress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader R. K. Roja, addressed public meetings in each of the 100 villages for two to three minutes during her whirlwind tour Sunday. She claimed to have got good public response to the campaigning.

The minister said the idea behind this blitzkrieg was to reach out to as many voters as possible. “This was not to break any record but to cover as many villages as possible by intensifying the campaign,” she said.

Her son Galla Jayadev, managing director of Amar Raja Industries, managed her campaign. He said the aim was to reach out to the maximum number of voters in a short span of time.

Accompanied by her family members, Arunakumari started her campaigning at 6.30 a.m. and concluded it at 6.30 p.m. Delivering a quick speech in every village, the minister went about covering Chandragiri, Ramachandrapuram and Tirupati rural mandals.

The Chandragiri constituency is witnessing an all-women contest. The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) of superstar Chiranjeevi has fielded Sai Ramani Reddy while G. Pushpalata is in the fray from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).