Congress leaders and workers put on a show of one-upmanship of their lives
Rahul causes a rush: Rahul Gandhi created quite a traffic jam and the police had a tough time controlling the crowd
Hyderabad: The pandemonium started from the moment Rahul Gandhi arrived on Thursday night — there was a massive rush from the local Congress heavies to get some RaGa time. It took the Special Protection Group a couple of pushes, stronger holds on collars and a few broken railings to get their VVIP safe inside. And then started the impromptu press conference. A local Congress boss was giving a speech when he was rudely interrupted by another party chieftain’s large SUV. It was a sea of men in white, in whiter cars.
The D-day numbers:
The Rahul buzz hit a crescendo on Friday with one question on everyone’s minds: “Woh kahaan se aa rahein hai?” But youth Congress leaders had no time to waste. Many were seen making sure everyone had a flag or a cap. And party leaders who congregated at the tiny villages of Kortical and Laxman Chanda — two of the five villages Rahul Gandhi visited on Friday — were happy by the show of force. “We have come in good numbers. And many more are coming,” said Roji M. John, head of the NSUI, before he was interrupted by a Telangana Congress leader, who was adamant that the turnout was because of their love for Rahul. “We just needed to tell people that he’s coming. That’s all,” the young party boss said.
Anil Kumar Yadav was seen enthusiastically running beside party jeeps and dragging Congress Youth leader Amrinder Singh Raja Brar by his arm for several rounds of introductions. He proudly declared, “We have brought in over a 1,000 people. Everything’s arranged, including good khaana and peena.”
Crowd control:
Rahul Gandhi was supposed to arrive at exactly 7.30 am, for his padayatra. And it was indeed a spectacle. A short, narrow bridge was the only entry point to the designated villages. First passed two jeeps, six cars, a very fresh-looking Digvijay Singh, the always affable Kuna Srisailam Goud and then the rest. Also spotted was Sabita Indra Reddy, who maintained a low profile throughout.
The press and the other cars followed the Congress luminaries and Rahul into the narrow street which led towards the first house he was supposed to visit — only to find themselves in perhaps the liveliest traffic jam of their lives. There were SPG personnel, Congressmen running all around, a loudspeaker with a CD in loop and yes, men with flags.
The bottleneck only cleared when a furious Renuka Chowdary, seemingly appeared out of nowhere, deftly managed to help cars and drivers out of the pickle. Perhaps it was because she could yell “reverse” in three different languages.
And despite every possible security protection taken by the SPG, the wave that arrived was simply overwhelming. Nearly a hundred people turned up at the house of Sudi Lasmanna —a hut with a front door smaller than the inhabitants.
Hoarding havoc:
The little town of Nirmal turned into one big hoarding. There were all kinds of banners, Photoshopped within an inch of their lives. But the trick was organising them on the right route. As late as Friday morning, hoardings and banners were seen changing locations. In fact, many found Nirmal just by following the political hoardings.
All worth it:
And as Rahul Gandhi zips past his house, Kottala Mutyam smiles. He is a relative of a farmer who had committed suicide. “They are happy. The woman is smiling. It’s nice to know someone came down to meet us. Hopefully, the situation here will get better.” He then rushes in — the electricity is back… and his village has just made the headlines.
( Source : dc )
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