Now, TD says yes we can

VV Balakrishna
First Published : 06 Nov 2008 08:18:00 AM IST

GUNTUR: It appeared as though a yellow tidal wave swamped Guntur and Vijayawada on Wednesday as Telugu Desam cadres from all corners of the State converged here to listen to ‘Yuva Garjana.’ And hear they did, to party chief N Chandrababu Naidu and NTR’s sons Balakrishna and Harikrishna. And, responded to their calls for drowning the Congress with a wave after wave of thunderous applause.

They began pouring in since morning, first in trickles later in a flood, from places as far off as Adilabad. The entire Kolkata-Chennai national highway was blocked till late in the night bringing traffic to a halt.

For the former chief minister, it was deja vu time. ‘‘Our government will be in place soon. We will take care of all your needs,’’ he assured the surging crowds like a messaiah. He promised unemployment dole of Rs 1,000 to the youth and the physically challenged, allocation of Rs 5,000 crore per annum for their economic upliftment under Yes (youth empowerment scheme) and 40 per cent of party tickets to youths .

But it was Balakrishna who stole the show with his torrential rhetoric. Putting his filmy experience to good use, he urged the youths to vote out the Congress and root out corruption.