Hyderabad:

Hyderabad is gearing up for Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP poll campaign panel chief Narendra Modi's first rally in the city since the formation of Telangana. The Gujarat Chief Minister is kicking off the BJP's poll campaign with a youth rally on Sunday.

With Modi coming to Hyderabad, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to canvas for his first public meeting in the city. Online registrations, Twitter publicity and voluntary contribution of Rs 5 for the Uttarakhand victims are all being organised.

"Modi has chosen Hyderabad for his meeting and several issues that are local and attached to people's sentiments will also be spoken about," said BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu.

The BJP has backed Telangana statehood for long. But soon after the UPA decided to bite the bullet, Modi wrote an open letter saying, "The Congress Party is rushing to announce Telangana. This raises serious concerns on the seriousness and intentions of the Congress. Will the Congress leadership not apologise to the people of Andhra Pradesh for treating them like doormats to suit the Congress's political opportunism?"

Parties like the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen have also expressed concern that Modi's visit will raise communal tensions. The police are taking no chances. "We will have enough security to maintain law and order," said Andhra Pradesh DGP Dinesh Reddy.

It is at the historic LB Stadum in Hyderabad that Narendra Modi will address thousands of his supporters on Sunday. In all his previous public meetings in Andhra Pradesh, he had promised a separate state in 48 hours of NDA coming to power. But this time around, will development and a political roadmap for Telangana feature in his talk?

After the Karnataka debacle and a 'barely-there' presence in AP, the BJP is surely pinning its hopes on Modi, to help the party re-build a gateway to the south.

source:ibnlive.in.com/news