Curtains to come down on campaigning by 6:00 pm

Loudspeakers will fall silent, campaign vehicles come to a halt and curtains come down on rallies and roadshows in Vizag as electioneering ends by 6:00 pm on 11 May 2024, even as arrangements are in full swing for the conduct of the 2024 election on 13 May. The city witnessed a cacophony since the beginning of the nomination filing, and it was at its peak in the last couple of days. In these elections, parties went digital on a big scale and preferred social media platforms to connect with voters fast.

Top leaders, like Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu, and Jana Sena founder-president K Pawan Kalyan, descended on the city to campaign for their respective party candidates. Besides, actors, too, took part in the campaign, lending glamour to it. Allegations, counter allegations and assurances marked the electioneering.

On Friday, Pawan Kalyan released a video appealing to voters to elect the TDP-BJP-JSP combine candidates. Promising to implement all assurances made in the manifesto, the actor-turned-politician exhorted the people to ensure that the anti-government vote does not split.

Collector’s appeal

The District Collector of Vizag, A Mallikharjuna, has appealed to the contesting candidates to stick to the election code and end the campaign by 6:00 pm on Saturday. In a statement, the Collector has said that Section 144 will come into effect after the end of the campaign, and gatherings of more than four persons will not be allowed.

The Collector, who had a meeting with the contesting candidates on Friday evening, discussed with them the rules to be followed during the silent period. Making it clear that outsiders would not be allowed into the constituencies, Mallikharjuna said lodges, function halls and kalyanamandapams would be thoroughly checked and stringent action would be taken if any unknown person was found. The Collector advised the candidates to furnish the details of polling agents to the polling officers in the time stipulated.

No city buses for two days

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) will not operate city buses in Visakhapatnam on 12 and 13 May, as it runs special services to Chodavaram, Madugula. Anakapalle, Yellamanchili, Payakaraopeta and Narsipatnam constituencies on 12 May.

Stay tuned to Yo! Vizag website and Instagram for more city news updates.

This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu.