Vijayawada: With elections less than a week away, panic seems writ large on the face of TDP supremo Nara Chandrababu Naidu's face. The TDP chief seemed upset by the fact there were not many people at the site of his protest against IT raids on houses of TDP leaders. He spoke to media briefly and left in a huff.

However, it was Chandrababu's controversial comments which took many people by surprise. The TDP chief, analysts say, appeared to give a call to TDP cadre to create trouble and vitiate the smooth election process. Chandrababu exhorted party men to keep up protests till the day of polling.

Chandrababu Naidu also directed officials to defy the orders of the Central Election Commission. Analysts and social activists are aghast at the desperation of the TDP supremo and say that reading between the lines, his message portends a dangerous turn of events which have no place in a democracy. Several members of the intelligentsia expressed their anguish on the likely violence that could be unleashed by party members if their leader issued an irresponsible appeal. Exhorting party members to take up protests giving up campaigning, is leading to suspicions on Chandrababu's gameplan.

How the Central Election Commission responds to Chandrababu's remarks remains to be seen. It must be mentioned that the immediate trigger for Chandrababu's controversial remarks appeared to be raids by the Income Tax officials on houses of TDP leaders, as reported in the media.

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