Hyderabad: The campaign hustle-bustle in Andhra Pradesh came to an end at 5 pm, the stipulated deadline set by the Election Commission, with both Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy making a last attempt to woo the voters.
Naidu, in a last press conference before the elections, took a ‘bow’ and sought the blessings of the voters of Andhra Pradesh.
“I am taking a bow in front of you and asking for your support. No one is permanent here, not even me. But the state is permanent. So, while you’re voting just remember me and remember that I am working for the interests of the state and saving it from the Modi regime,” Naidu said on Tuesday.
Living up to his reputation as the corporate-styled CM, Naidu ended his campaign with a powerpoint presentation to the media in the state’s capital Amaravati, highlighting the work done by his government.
The presentation also included videos of the Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (popularly known as KCR), his daughter, MP K Kavitha and his nephew Harish Rao in which they are seen opposing Special Category status for Andhra Pradesh.
KCR in a public meeting on Monday had said that he had always been in favour of Andhra being granted the Special Status and will support opposition leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s fight for the same going forward.
Reiterating his stand on KCR-Jagan’s recent friendship, Naidu said that both the leaders are just working towards furthering their political agenda and not the state’s interests.
Meanwhile, Jagan chose ‘Mangalgiri’, the constituency from where Naidu’s son Lokesh Nara is contending for the assembly seat, as his poll pitch on the last day of campaigning.
“You have been seeing me for the past nine years. I am urging you to vote in such a way that there is a change in the system. A leader should be such that every party worker should raise his collar while talking about him,” Jagan said in his final rally address ahead of the first phase of the polls.
Jagan’s mother Vijayamma and sister Sharmila have also been campaigning for the YSRCP leader as both are considered to be natural crowd pullers.
Both Jagan and Naidu have been on a whirlwind campaign in the last few weeks to close the one percent vote share gap from the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Besides spending money, the two party chiefs have also campaigned fiercely around issues which could massively sway the electorate.
Either way, the 2019 polls will be a litmus test for both the leaders and a failure to clinch a victory could inevitably spell a roadblock in their political careers.
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