Reshmi AR

In the month-long election campaign which kept the citizens of Andhra Pradesh engrossed, a study of the body language, gestures and mannerisms of the principal contenders tells its own story. Look at the way YSR Congress Party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy connects with the crowd at a public meetings or even the manner in which he begins his speeches. Contrast this with the stern/grim demeanor of Chandrababu—cold and aloof, speaking to an unenthused audience.

YS Jagan taps on his mic to greet people to make sure that every person down to the last rows of the milling crowds who attend his rallies hear his greetings. He joins both his hands together in a sign of greeting high above his head and with a smiling countenance, turns to all sides of the mammoth gatherings which throng his meetings. He begins his speech by greeting people drawn from all age groups—young and old and establishes an instant connect with them. Each time he does this, the crowd responds with a powerful roar of approval.

Contrast this with the sparse crowds forcibly brought to Chandrababu Naidu’s election rallies. They are seen melting away even as he drones on in his trademark expressionless frosty manner.

While speaking, YS Jagan intersperses his address with questions directed to different people in the audience. For instance, he would point to an old woman and ask her if she was getting her pension and asks another if her loans had been waived as promised by the chief minister in 2014. Invariably, the crowd shakes its hand and head in the negative. Every single moment in his public meeting shows his rapport with the audience and the tremendous goodwill he enjoys. The most striking feature of YS Jagan’s election rallies as in the public meetings of his 14-month-long padayatra is that the crowds come flocking voluntarily. On the other hand, when it comes to Chandrababu Naidu’s meetings, a casual look at TV grab will show an uninterested crowd sitting under canopies, listening to Chandrababu’s speech forced on them. Often, it is pointed out that the crowds which are brought to his public meetings, small as they are, are hired ones.

YS Jagan holds out hope in his speeches, emphasizing on welfare governance based on Navarathnalu while Chandrababu Naidu has spent most of his time in electioneering blowing his own trumpet about his experience, Polavaram (the project that did not move beyond the foundation wall) and harping on development (which is a non-starter).

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