Political leaders actively participating in Vinayaka Chaviti celebrations in Visakhapatnam in view of elections in 2024

.Political parties, leaders & activists in Visakhapatnam actively taking part in Vinayaka Chaviti celebrations. Yuvaseva Foundation created a Ganesh pandal resembling a polling booth to create awareness about voting. Leaders & activists of political parties contributing to pandal organisers to celebrate the festival. 700 applications received for setting up of Ganesh pandals; likely to increase to 1,000. Organisers must take permission from GVMC, Fire & Electricity Dept. before getting no-objection certificate from Police Dept. to celebrate festival.

Keeping in view the general elections in 2024, political parties, their leaders and activists are actively taking part in Vinayaka Chaviti celebrations in Visakhapatnam. Some Ganesh pandal organisers are coming up with novel themes in the city. Yuvaseva Foundation (YSF) at Thatichetlapalem in the city created a Ganesh pandal resembling polling booth, in order to create awareness among people about the need for voting.

Peela Hari Prasad, the founder of YSF, said that they do come up with a special theme every year to celebrate Vinayaka Chaviti. This time, they came up with the theme of voting system in elections. For this, they created a polling booth (booth no. 1) under polling station number 189 (actually Tathichetlapalem polling station number is 189). Here, mice are polling staff, while an idol of Ganesh is seen on top of an electronic voting machine In this pandal.

There are eight rats in this polling booth. Four rats stand in a queue to vote, one each of the remaining rats is a jawan, polling officer and a polling staff. The eighth rat can be seen outside the polling station where it shows its index finger to visitors indicating that it voted at the polling station.

“The Ganesh pandal is completely designed like a polling booth. People can easily understand how to cast their vote. It is not our intention to promote political parties, or whom to vote in the ensuing elections. We are trying to create awareness among people about the importance of voting. So no pictures of any political leaders will be displayed in this polling booth except that of Lord Ganesh,” Mr. Prasad told The Hindu.

For Ganesh festivals in Sivajipalem in the city, leaders and activists of political parties have contributed generously to pandal organisers to celebrate the festival in a grand manner.

“Their motive seems to be attracting people as the elections would be conducted in the next six months, but we are happy about their support,” said P. Srinivas, a pandal organiser.

Even in Gajuwaka, leaders of various political parties contributed to the Ganesh celebrations. Some gave donations for purchase of the idol, some for the ‘annadanam’, and some others for the decoration of the pandal.