There was overwhelming response to Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) president K. Chiranjeevi’s roadshow in this Kapu belt of Krishna district on the second day on Wednesday. His convoy was stopped in almost every village on the Pedana-Bantumilli road, severely disrupting the schedule. The PRP chief had to abruptly end his campaign in Machilipatnam at 10 p.m. on Tuesday and go straight to Bantumilli without covering Pedana for a night halt. After speaking to the huge gathering at Koneru centre in the district headquarters for just five minutes, he promised to come back to the port town again. In the morning, the schedule was changed to cover Pedana that was missed out on Tuesday. A huge gathering waited for several hours to listen to him in Challapalli before he went to Machilipatnam. Romancing the people who came to listen to him, Mr. Chiranjeevi said his affair with them was over three decades old. The matinee idol-turned-politician said that the “love and affection” the people were showering on him was enough for him to work without expectations for the betterment of the people for the rest of his life. Without asking the people to vote for him even once, Mr. Chiranjeevi kept repeating that the love they showered on him for the last three decades and now was “enough.” He said the affection they were showering on him would turn into a rain of votes and later it would become a cyclone that would engulf the entire State. He said the 14-year-long ‘vanavas’ – the nine-year-rule of the Telugu Desam Party and the five-year-rule of the Congress – would come to an end with the coronation of the PRP in the next elections. Addressing a meeting held in front of the bus stand in Pedana, the little town with a predominance of weavers, Mr. Chiranjeevi said his heart went out to the weavers who were being totally neglected. The State Government was coming up with schemes and benefits for the weavers more out of fear of not getting their vote, but the PRP would work to bring about a qualitative change in their lifestyle. The PRP would not act out of fear but out of love for weavers because mankind would still be primitive wearing animal skins without them. Accepting a harness used by toddy tappers to climb the Palmyra trees, which was presented to him by an admirer, Mr. Chiranjeevi said his brother Pavan Kalyan was labelled a drunkard for accepting a small amount of toddy that was a traditional drink in the Nizam’s area. He said the lives of toddy tappers were also neglected. The Praja Rajyam would remove toddy from the purview of the Excise Department and treat it separately, he said.

The Praja Rajyam Party undertook a door-to-door campaign in the 21st municipal ward here on Wednesday. Areti Rani, State organising secretary, expressed dissatisfaction over poor sanitation in the town. She said that the PRP would provide needs if elected to power. She urged the people to give the party a chance.