Anti-bifurcation protests across Andhra Pradesh are not likely to deter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) election campaign chief Narendra Modi from addressing a massive youth conclave in Hyderabad, where organisers expect over one lakh people to welcome the Gujarat Chief Minister.
The youth rally that is projected to kick off the BJP's campaign for the Lok sabha elections next year will take place at 2 pm on Sunday at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium. Modi's posters with the tagline of the BJP campaign 'Nayi soch, nayi umeed' (new thinking, new hope) have been put up all over Hyderabad city.
"Narendra Modi will be starting his campaign on August 11 from Hyderabad which will call to the people of India to make the country free of the Congress Party," senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu had told ANI two days ago.
The stadium has a seating arrangement for just 25,000 people and hence a spillover of crowd is expected outside the stadium.
Modi will meet top industry leaders and local caste group leaders between 11 am and 1 pm before the rally kicks off to discuss several issues.
What to expect from Narendra Modi's Hyderabad rally?
Telangana
The issue has rocked not just Andhra Pradesh but also the whole country as it triggered statehood demands for Gorkhaland in West Bengal and Bodoland in Assam.
When Congress announced its endorsement for Telangana two weeks ago, Modi did not miss the opportunity to write a letter to the people of Andhra Pradesh, welcoming the bifurcation and terming it a 'victory of people's power'.
"During the public meeting at Hyderabad, I was hoping to share my thoughts on the issue of statehood for Telangana as well as on all of your concerns on a roadmap for all the regions of Andhra Pradesh," Modi had written in the letter.
Moreover, the BJP leader is likely to gain the public support in Andhra by recalling the year of 2000 when NDA government formed three states of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
Youth and Social Media
Modi is the first Indian political leader to use the social media so extensively for an election campaign. He has been directly interacting with the voters on a daily basis. Narendra Modi is, in fact, the only political leader with more than six Twitter accounts in various languages.
In an interview with ANI, Modi termed 'social media' as a 'medium of equals'. He said that it is imperative in the 'digital age' for any political leader "to be able to have a two-way communication with the people, especially our youth."
"Social Media to me is the most powerful channel for accomplishing this," he added.
Before meeting students of Fergusson College in Pune last month, Modi had asked his followers for ideas that they would like him to talk about in the rally. He has done the same before the Hyderabad youth rally. One of the short-listed requests by him is on how to make social media reach the 70 percent of rural population of India.
Education
Another short-listed suggestion by Modi on social networking site facebook is about how his government would change the quality of education in the country in context of the IT industry of Hyderabad.
This is not new subject. Modi took up the issue of declining standards of Indian education system at a Pathankot rally in June as well. He had stressed how not even a single educational institute of India was ranked among the top 100 institutes of the world this year.
Congress and Corruption
Since his elevation as the Election Campaign head for BJP, Modi has brought up the issue of corruption scams surrounding the Congress Party.
At the Pune rally, he blamed corruption within the Congress party for the deprecating condition of the rupee and the Indian economy. At Pathankot rally on 23 June, Modi had said, "The misrule of directionless and corrupt Congress-led UPA government has shaken the very root of the democratic system."
Incursions and Security
Modi is one of the Opposition party leaders who have been quite vocal by the repeated incursions by Pakistan and Chinese military troops. He has always blamed the ruling UPA government for letting the neighbouring countries take advantage of 'India's restraint'.
"From China's intrusions to Pakistan's ambushes - UPA Government has been absolutely lax in securing Indian borders. When will Centre wake up?" he posted on the micro-blogging site Twitter on 6 August.
Addressing students at Pune's Fergusson College in Pune last month, Modi criticized the Congress for not acting adequately on the major raid by Pakistan Army in January, when they killed two Indian soldiers and beheaded one of them.
Modi is likely to take up the issue of communal clashes at Kishtwar as well, "Instances of violence in Kishtwar region of Jammu & Kashmir is a matter of serious national concern," he had posted on Twitter.
