After putting Region in political coma:NPP, NDC shake Oseikrom

EVEN THOUGH the political scene in the Ashanti Region, described as the stronghold of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has for sometime not been very active, information available to The Chronicle indicates that the two leading political parties, are bracing themselves up for a massive showdown, in their bid to consolidate their support base in the region.

With pollsters and political analysts predicting that the Western and Central regions could prove decisive, as to which party becomes victorious in the upcoming elections, the Ashanti Region, which hitherto was the hub of the two glamorous political parties, has now become quiescent, leaving residents to wonder whether the various political parties are contented with the level of their support base in the region.

Reports available to the paper, however, indicate that the region would once again be lighted with the blue, white, red and the green colours, of the ruling NPP and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), as they prepare to embark on intensive campaign tours.

The Ashanti Regional Secretary of the NPP, Mr. Samuel Cudjoe, who was very quick to debunk the assertion, that the ruling party was satisfied with the strength of the party in the region, disclosed that the flagbearer of the party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, would be storming the region, from September 6 to 10, to begin a 10-day campaign tour. “Even though the Ashanti Region is our stronghold, we have no intention of leaving anything to chance, neither have we become complacent; we have been embarking on massive underground campaigns,” he noted.

Mr. Cudjoe told The Chronicle, in a telephone interview, that even though there had been less noise, in terms of the party's outdoor campaigns, it has adopted effective secret and underground campaign strategies, which were working successfully.

He stated that the party was currently organising workshops for its parliamentary candidates and district chief executives, to brief them on strategies and messages that would form the basis of the party's campaign, adding that a lot of the campaigns would be concentrated at the district and constituency levels.

The Regional Secretary of the ruling party, however, said the visit of the party's flagbearer would be a massive and unprecedented one, which would shock its opponents.

“We are putting together a gigantic rally to welcome the flagbearer, Nana Akufo Addo, and it is promising to be a mega one,” he predicted.

He said the campaign tour would take the flagbearer to every nook and cranny of the region, where Nana Akufo Addo's message, of consolidating the gains of the NPP government, and moving the country forward, would be adequately explained to the electorate in the region.

On his part, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NDC, Alhaji Mohammed Sannie, stated that the party had no intention of organising massive rallies, as is being done by the NPP.

He said experience had taught the NDC that conveying people in buses and coaches to rally grounds, does not often indicate the true picture of a party's strength.

“The NPP can continue to deceive themselves by bussing people to rally grounds, and telling the whole world that they have a strong support base, but we would not toe that line,” he added.

He, however, said the party's flagbearer, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, would continue with his door-to-door campaign, to explain the party's policies and programmes, and how the NDC would change Ghana for the better.

“At the moment I don't know the schedules of Prof. Mills, but what I can assure you is that both the flagbearer, and the former President, would visit the region in the next few days,” he disclosed.

He said the party was poised to add more seats to the existing three, and that there was no way the NDC was going to rest on its oars, in achieving that feat.

Alhaji Sannie also expressed concern about attempts by some members of the NPP and the media, to denigrate the NDC's flagbearer, by misquoting his statements, adding such cheap and inferior political tactics would never benefit the ruling party, since the truth would always prevail at the end of the day.