Samaikyandhra activists take poll plunge

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, April 4, 2014: Student leaders, who were actively involved in Samaikyandhra movement since Dec 9, 2009, are testing their political fortunes. While Samaikyandhra students JAC state convenor, Adari Kishore joined BJP and aspiring to contest for any assembly segment, other leaders, Lagudu Govind joined former CM Kiran’s Jai Samaikyandhra Party (JSP) and Areti Mahesh is contesting as an independent for Vizag loksabha.

Mahesh and Lagudu Govind along with many students of Andhra University, staged demonstrations, rasta rokos, organised bandhs and observed huger strikes, many times ever since the union government announced creation of Telangana on December 9, 2009.

Though, the former chief minister and the self styled Samaikyandhra champion, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, has launched JSP, not many students of Andhra University and the local youth are interested in joining the party.

Kiran time and again appealed those actively participated in united Andhra movement to join his party and also offered preference over party tickets to them to contest in the assembly polls.

But the students are not keen in joining JSP. And a meeting with youngsters in the last month by Kiran also proved disastrous.

“We all agree to the popular mood that Kiran Reddy never responded when his action was needed. He indirectly facilitated passing of AP Reorganisation Bill in the state Assembly. It was during his regime that total government machinery and staff was busy sending inputs to Centre on sharing of various assets and other bifurcation related information to prepare the draft bill. It all happened right under his nose,” said Areti Mahesh.

He is now burning midnight oil to garner support for his new endeavour-contesting as an independent for Vizag loksabha.

 The student leader added that, non locals are ruling the roost and neglecting the development of Vizag. My contest is only to put pressure on the candidates of other parties to make changes to their respective manifestos on Vizag development, he added.