VISAKHAPATNAM: A sea of humanity turned up at the Sangivalasa grounds under Bheemili mandal of Visakhapatnam district, where Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched his election campaign on Saturday.
When he took the stage, the CM was impressed with the large numbers of party cadres drawn from six districts.
Around 50,000 were at the meeting venue. Three times more were outside, blocking National Highway 16 near Bheemili for over three and half hours. The estimated crowd that witnessed the programme was nearly 2.5 lakh. Though the meeting was scheduled for 3:30 pm, people started pouring from different parts of north Andhra from morning onwards.
Jagan Mohan Reddy first saw the crowd at the meeting and outside from his helicopter. Before he began the speech, he said, “One side I see the sea, and the other side a sea of humanity.”
Party leaders, elated with the success of the meeting, said it seemed the elected representatives competed with each other in mobilising the cadre. They estimated that over 1,500 buses were deployed to bring people from different parts of north Andhra. Party cadre came from Srikakulam, Parvathipuram Manyam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Anakapalle districts.
Visakhapatnam South Assembly segment alone organised 80 buses, party sources said.
It was like a festival with every member holding a party flag in one hand and a placard on the other and dancing to the songs.
The public roared with frenzy when Jagan Mohan Reddy walked on the ramp right into the crowd and waved at them. This he did both before addressing the crowd and after completing his speech.
“We are impressed with Jagan Mohan Reddy blowing the conch and beating the drum at the election campaign,” said Ekasi and her friends who came all the way from Ichchapuram to attend the meeting. They also danced when party songs were played.
An opposition member had mentioned that the cadre meeting would be a failure compared to the TD meeting in Bhogapuram. Revenue minister Dharmana Prasada Rao said Opposition leaders should realise that it was a cadre meeting, not a public meeting.
