At a time when Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national general secretary N. Lokesh is all set to begin his Nellore leg of Yuva Galam padayatra, the support announced by the suspended YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders for the walkathon would add strength to the opposition party in the run-up to the 2024 Assembly elections, the political observers have said.
Having completed 124 days of his walkathon, Mr. Lokesh is scheduled to enter the district in Atmakur Assembly segment on June 13 (Tuesday).
The TDP, which lost all the 10 Assembly constituencies in the undivided Nellore district in 2019 elections, has an onerous task at hand to bounce back. Three suspended YSRCP MLAs—Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy and Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy— are now drumming up support for the Yuva Galam padaytara and the political observers describe it as a positive development for the TDP. However, they say that admitting many YSRCP leaders into the TDP’s fold may prove counter-productive for the opposition party.
Mr. Ramanarayana Reddy, who had made up his mind to rejoin the TDP with which he began his political career when the regional party was founded by N.T.Rama Rao, will take care of the arrangements for the Yuva Galam in Atmakur, which he represented in 2009.
Mr. Sridhar Reddy would also walk with Mr. Lokesh when the latter’s padayatra enters Nellore Rural Assembly segment. Mr. Chandrasekhar Reddy, MLA from Udayagiri, has declared his support for the padayatra.
Meanwhile, TDP Polit Bureau member Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy said that the party would expose, among other scams, the ₹3,000-crore Silica scam ‘perpetrated by the YSRCP leaders’.
“The omissions and commissions of the YSRCP government will be exposed during the Yuva Galam with a focus on the non-performance of the YSRCP MLAs and Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy,” he said.
Mr. Lokesh will walk 15 km a day on average, covering an Assembly segment in two to three days, said party sources. He is scheduled to hold interactions with different sections of society including farmers and gather inputs for the party’s election manifesto.
In view of the prevailing heatwave conditions, Mr. Lokesh is scheduled to hold meetings in the morning session and walk from evening till late in the night, the party sources said.
