VIJAYAWADA: With less than one-and-a-half-years remaining for the elections to the Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly, leaders of all the political parties are gearing up for mass contact programmes like padayatra and bus yatra.
Chief Minister and YSRC president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has already started touring different parts of the State to launch welfare schemes and development programmes. TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has taken up district visits as part of the Idemi Karma Mana Rashtraniki protest against the YSRC government’s ‘anti-people’ policies. While TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh is set to undertake padayatra from January 27, 2023, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan has decided to embark on bus yatra in the New Year.
In the wake of fears of fresh Covid-19 spike and the health advisory of the Centre from time to time on precautions to be taken, there is big question on materialisation of the mass contact programmes proposed by the leaders of major political parties.
Actually, the rank and file of both the ruling YSRC and opposition TDP have already hit the streets. YSRC legislators are actively participating in the ‘Gadapa Gadapaku Mana Prabhutvam’ to highlight the achievements of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. After the conduct of ‘Badude Badudu’ to highlight the tax burden imposed by the YSRC government on people, the TDP has taken up ‘Idemi Karma Mana Rashtraniki’ to expose the failures of the chief minister.
Meanwhile, Lokesh announced to go on a year-long padayatra from Kuppam to Ichchapuram, while Pawan Kalyan readied a vehicle to embark on a bus yatra in New Year.
Even as the elections are scheduled to be held in March/April 2024, the opposition parties are of the view that Jagan may go to early polls and evolved their poll strategies. Denying the speculation of early polls, the YSRC has also started getting its election strategies ready to retain power in the State.
All the parties are well aware of the fact that their electoral prospects will largely depend on the mass contact and they are hopeful that Covid will not hamper their plans.