Lal Krishna Advani’s Vijay Sankalp Yatra reached Hyderabad and the huge gathering in lakhs at the parade grounds in Secunderabad greeted the leader with cheers! At first it was Venkaiah Naidu who spoke in eloquent Telugu and thrilled the gathering with his sarcastic comparison of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments to that of a broken vehicle.

Advani spoke with ease and touched all the maladies the country is facing today. He wondered as he could not find even a single positive aspect of the UPA’s five years ruling for any appreciation! He was hard hit on inflation and price rise and specifically highlighted the point that when America imposed sanctions during National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule, the NDA government could contain inflation and price rise. And whereas the UPA government did nothing to arrest the inflation and price rise.

On the issue of separate state of Telangana, he promised that his party, if elected to power in the next general election, would declare Telangana state within 100 days. This cheered the gathering to dizzying heights.

Among the celebrity participants in the meeting who adored the dais were cine actors Krishnam Raju, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Sarath Babu etc. The famous Telangana ballad singer Gaddar, too was present in the meeting. This was considered a significant one.

59-year-old Gaddar (original name Gummadi Vittal Rao, acquired the pseudonym ’Gaddar’ inspired by pre Independent India’s Gadar party of Punjab) is a known sympathiser of Naxals in the state. Gaddar became popular in Telanga region by his mesmerising folk songs and thrived hard for the upliftment of downtrodden.

BJP could convince Gaddar to attend the meet as BJP is determined to mobilise people of all walks of caste and creed.

The gathering was a mix of intellectuals, advocates, farmers, weavers, toddy tappers, daily wage earners, students, employees, and women who gathered in large numbers from rural areas in and around Telangana area.

Advani also asked all pro-Telangana parties to come together in the formation of Telangana state as the Congress party deceived the people of Telangana as it could not keep up its promise. Commenting on the Left parties, Advani said that they have lost their credibility and stand beaten in public eye.