TDP likely to put off farmers' meet

GUNTUR: With district leaders expressing their inability to host a `rythu sadassu' on a large scale at such a short notice, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) state leadership is contemplating postponing the Sunday meeting at least by a week.
Initially, the party wanted to convene a mammoth farmers' meeting on Sunday in Guntur and take party chief N Chandrababu Naidu straight to the venue from Nims, Hyderabad.However, the district leaders expressed apprehensions about crowd mobilization in such a short notice and are said to have urged the state leaders to give them at least a week's time to make it a success.
The district leaders argued that the conduct of `rythu sadassu' would be a prestigious issue particularly in the wake of Jaganmohan Reddy's successful deeksha in Vijayawada. Sources said that the legislators from the district are said to have fumed over the politburo members who finalised the schedule at an all-party meeting in Hyderabad without discussing it with them.
Sources said that after the legislators from the district expressed serious reservations over holding the meeting in such a short notice, the party leadership decided that Naidu should break his fast in the presence of national opposition party leaders.
Meanwhile, the district leaders have started searching for a suitable venue to host the meeting by next week. Party leaders visited various places along the national highway on both sides of Guntur city as it would be convenient for the crowd coming by road. In all likelihood, the meeting would be held either on December 28 or 29.