The YSRCP has already announced the candidature of M. Gurumoorthy for the ensuing byelection to the Tirupati (SC) Lok Sabha seat, and the TDP favoured former Union Minister Panabaka Lakshmi for the seat much ahead.
But that has not sapped the morale of the late-comers. Defying the proverbial ‘early bird’ syndrome, the late entrants are leaving no stone unturned to attract the voters’ attention and turn the tide in their favour.
Chinta’s campaign
Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and former MP Chinta Mohan has been working closely with the constituents for over a month, though his name was officially announced only on Friday.
In fact, he has already covered all the mandals, barring one or two, in the seven Assembly segments forming part of the parliamentary constituency.
Accompanied by Youth Congress national in-charge Swathi Malagi and State president Rakesh Reddy, Dr. Mohan visited STV Nagar, a slum area in the city predominantly inhabited by lower and middle income groups, and personally handed over party graffiti to the voters on Friday and campaigned in the Muthyala Reddy Palle area on Saturday.
BJP mascot
Similar is the situation in the BJP camp.
Though the party had finalised the candidature and officially named former Chief Secretary of Karnataka K. Ratna Prabha late on Thursday, the party workers have been aggressively campaigning in the constituency for over a month.
Though the local face remained unknown, the activists have been highlighting the scores of schemes showered over the Tirupati constituency by the Central government, by projecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their ‘official mascot’.
The party also plans to project Ms. Ratna Prabha as a symbol of women empowerment and the fruits derived during her stint as a bureaucrat as an example of official outreach to the grassroots of society.
In fact, she is known for ‘UBUNTU’, a consortium of women entrepreneurs, touted to be the first of its kind.
Her website, ‘SheForHer’, which is accessible from www.ratnaprabha.in, is known to have highlighted the success stories of women in various fields.
Meanwhile, Republican Party of India (RPI) has plumped for journalist and social activist M. Chakravarthy.
Making the official announcement recently, the party leadership explained the importance of having such “efficient, lettered and vociferous speakers” to raise pertinent issues in Parliament.
