Sonia plays on emotions

NANDYAL: Sonia Gandhi breezed in on Wednesday to get the stalled Congress campaign vehicle moving in Andhra Pradesh.
The response to her road shows in Anantapur was mixed but a large crowd of four lakh were on hand to hear her surprisingly short speech in Nandyal.
Also surprising was that the Congress president’s attention in her public speeches was more given to the attacking the BJP than the Chandrababu Naidu government in AP.
Invoking Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia tried to strike an emotional chord among the voters, recalling that the people of Andhra — “I see this as my native place.’’ — had always bailed them out when the party was in trouble. “I am sure you will not belie my hope this time,� she pleaded.
Sonia looked energetic and strident but her 14-minute speech in English left the audience wondering why the rhetoric had few direct references to Chandrababu Naidu.
After the 50-minute public meeting in Nandyal, Sonia flew to Hyderabad and visited Gandhi Bhavan at 7.10 pm. She spent close 90 minutes there, meeting small delegations of caste groups and party leaders. Groups such as Telangana Congressmen tried to impress upon her not to concede too many seats to the TRS. They asked Sonia not to sacrifice reserved seats and those held by BCs.
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