Is 'Foreigner' talk was foolish!!!

The first phase polling in the State is over and different political parties and their affiliated dailies predicted that voters’ mandate went in their favour. They are making their own calculations based on their own source of information. Though internally they know in which way the voters’ verdict would be, they are putting up a brave face.

Sakshi, predictably, has predicted that the Congress would not get less than 100 assembly seats out of 154 which went to polling in the first phase. To support its stand, it highlighted the “victory celebrations” of the Congress workers at Gandhi Bhavan. Eenadu and Andhra Jyothy gave clear edge to Mahakootami. In fact, Eenadu’s banner headline “Maha Tadakha” speaks for itself. However, the highlight of the day was Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s controversial comment on Telangana during his Nandyal rally. It kicked up a wide debate all over the state and people are discussing whether YSR is justified in making such a statement. Especially his comment that the people of Rayalaseema would be treated as “foreigners” in Hyderabad if Telangana state is formed, is a clear indication to YSR’s strategy to provoke anti-Telangana sentiment in the other two regions and get maximum benefit to the Congress. But one would definitely ask why the Congress has promised formation of Telangana in its manifesto and even appointed a committee to look into it. It is yet to be seen whether his comments would be of any help to the Congress in the second phase.

Both Eenadu and Andhra Jyothy made every effort to project YSR in the bad light in the wake of his comment on Telangana; while Sakshi gave it a different twist, quoting YSR as questioning whether the Telugu Desam was treating the people of Rayaseema as foreigners by joining hands with the TRS. However, his speech, repeatedly being telecast in the channels, clearly shows that YSR was opposing the Telangana state.

All the dailies, however, have given full marks to Chief Electoral Officer I V Subba Rao and the police chief A K Mohanty for conducting a peaceful and by and large fair polling in the first phase.