Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national general secretary Nara Lokesh will be resuming his Yuva Galam padayatra in Razole constituency in Konaseema district on November 27 after a break of 79 days caused by the crisis faced both by his family and party.
Mr. Lokesh had to suspend the padayatra at Podalada village in the wake of his father and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest in the skill development case in the early hours of September 9.
Mr. Lokesh will cover eight Assembly constituencies in the combined East Godavari district, after which he will enter Visakhapatnam.
As he once again takes to the streets, Mr. Lokesh will train his guns on the “anarchic and corrupt rule of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy,” according to a TDP release.
JSP cadre to join
This time, the Jana Sena Party (JSP) cadres are expected to join Mr. Lokesh as the two parties forged an alliance about a week after Mr. Naidu’s detention to confront the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) together in the 2024 elections.
Mr. Lokesh is himself mired in criminal cases, but is able to move out freely due to a reprieve given by the courts.
The release further says that Mr. Naidu will also be reaching out to the masses after being set free on bail in a plethora of cases he is battling in courts.
Mr. Lokesh has so far covered a distance of about 2,853 km in 208 days starting at Kuppam, spanning 84 constituencies. He has received more than 4,000 representations on a host of issues faced by the people during his walkathon.
According to the release, Mr. Lokesh will highlight the the YSRCP government’s “failures and corrupt rule,” and what the TDP-JSP plans to do for the people if voted to power.
As the days pass, Mr. Naidu and JSP chief Pawan Kalyan will together campaign against the incumbent YSRCP, accompanied by Mr. Lokesh and other leaders. As on date, the TDP and JSP are in the process of giving a shape to their joint manifesto.