The united show of strength by the TDP, BJP and Janasena at their first ‘Praja Galam’ public meeting in Chilakaluripet on Sunday ended up as a ‘flop show’, thanks to a host of comical goof-ups. The maiden event of the alliance, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, began on an ominous note as a series of shortcomings exposed the chinks in the organisational abilities of their leaders. The public meeting was organised under the direct supervision of TDP general secretary and Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh who reportedly formed more than a dozen committees for this purpose.
Here is a look at a few glaring goof-ups that reduced the event to a comedy of errors.
TDP gimmickry with sparse crowds
The leaders of the three parties boasted of mobilising at least 10 lakh people for the public meeting to mark the reunion of the alliance partners that fell apart in 2019. But these claims paled in contrast as the actual turnout was way below the one-lakh mark. In another claim, the organisers said that the event was being organised in a 100-acre arena. In reality, only 40 acres were earmarked for the public meeting venue while the rest was used for parking. About 10 acres out of the 40 went for helipads for the Prime Minister and other VVIPs. In effect, the seating arrangements were made only in about 30 acres.
About 24 galleries were created for the seating of the activists of the three parties. The organisers claimed to have used 48,000 chairs at 2,000 each for every gallery. Ironically, only 6,000 seats were said to have been occupied by the participants. Feeling jittery, the TDP leaders reportedly forced the crowds to surge closer to the front side to ensure a ‘sight of fullness’ to the dignitaries seated on the dais.
Another interesting piece of information trickled in as if to prove the poor organisation of a poorly attended event. According to sources, the TDP had initially requisitioned the APSRTC for about 3,000 buses for the purpose of transporting their activists from various places to the public meeting venue. But, it is learnt that only 900 buses were availed by the organisers, indicating the general lack of public interest in the event.
Modi humiliated – ‘felicitation’ ends in fiasco
Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seated on the dais, it was announced that he would be felicitated by Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan with a bouquet and a shawl. But even after Modi rose up and waited in anticipation, both Naidu and Pawan Kalyan were seen looking at each other with blank faces and groping around for the bouquet and shawl. After a few awkward moments, BJP AP chief Purandheswari came to the rescue of a visibly embarrassed prime minister and presented to him a Ganesha idol, which she originally wanted to hand over at the end of the event.
Though the TDP’s follies in the fiasco were clearly exposed, its leaders quickly shifted the blame on to the police, alleging that their leaders carrying these items were denied permission to reach the main dais. But the fact that Purandheswari could carry the Ganesh idol on to the dais quickly nailed their lies.
Mic mutes Modi for eight-long minutes..!
The ‘mother of all’ came in the form of the ultra-age public address system which conked at least three times during the prime minister’s speech. It tested Modi’s patience for eight long minutes during all the three disruptions. Struggling to hide his frustration, he stayed at the podium until the mic connection was restored.
Interestingly, the cables of the mic control panel were snapped and its signals interfered with by the unruly crowds who surged far too ahead to reach the periphery of the permitted front area. Several of them have perched on top of the towers and poles, resulting in the snapping of the cables. Again, the TDP organisers were clearly at fault in this episode as it happened after they mindlessly asked the crowds to come forward to cover up the gaping gaps in the front galleries.
This goof-up was also conveniently blamed on the police by the TDP leaders who cried hoarse that there were very few police personnel on hand and that they failed to control the crowds. But they exposed themselves with this trivial argument as it is next to impossible for any force to control the crowds at party events, especially when they go berserk. Surprisingly, there were no traces of any regulating staff from either of the three parties which raised many eyebrows. The TDP and Janasena have a history of employing their own support teams at public meetings to regulate the crowds. This is witnessed at all the meetings of Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan and Lokesh. Only the TDP can better explain as to why there were none at such a high-profile event featuring the Prime Minister. This has sparked suspicions of a deliberate mischief by the TDP at Modi’s event to tarnish the YS Jagan government and thus derive some political mileage.
Artificial traffic jams
The TDP activists also stooped down further by creating artificial traffic jams on the highway leading to the public meeting venue. Drone camera visuals showed how some TDP leaders and workers blocked the passage on the highway with their SUVs, bringing the vehicular traffic to a standstill. Netizens on social media platforms immediately pounced on this and tore the TDP apart for resorting to devious ways in their attempt to compete with the YSRCP.
The four recent Siddham meetings of the YSRCP had attracted huge crowds which had its demoralising impact on the TDP cadre. Visuals capturing traffic jams on highways extending into several kilometres went viral on social media platforms and made for envious viewing by its opponents. The ‘praja galam’ event of the alliance clearly fell way short of the YSRCP Siddham events, failing to attract huge turnout. So, the TDP activists, at the behest of their top leadership, resorted to this cheap trick by forcefully stopping the vehicular movement to create an artificial traffic jam.