VIJAYAWADA: TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh is set to embark on a year-long padayatra from January 27, 2023. Though he planned to undertake the walkathon from Dasara, it was postponed for unspecified reasons.Commencing his mass contact programme from Kuppam Assembly constituency being represented by his father and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, the TDP general secretary plans to culminate his padayatra at Ichapuram in Srikakulam district. The preparation of routemap and other arrangements for the padayatra will be finalised soon.
As Assembly elections in the State are scheduled to be held in 2024, Lokesh is planning to be amidst the people till that time. Hence, he has decided to undertake his year-long padayatra from January 27, 2023.
During the padayatra, Lokesh will mingle with the people to know about their problems and highlight the ‘failures’ of the YSRC government on various fronts. At present, he is busy interacting with people in Mangalagiri Assembly constituency, where he unsuccessfully contested in the last elections.
According to TDP sources, the padayatra will be a perfect platform for the Nara scion to prove his mettle and emerge as a successor of TDP chief Naidu.As the morale of TDP cadres took an all-time low following the debacle of the party in the 2019 elections and Lokesh himself losing the election as an MLA in his maiden contest, it is high time for him to instil confidence among the party rank and file and show his sway over the party, a senior TDP leader observed.Be it YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Chandrababu Naidu or Jagan Mohan Reddy, all of them came to power after padayatra. Will it work out for Lokesh ?
Answering the question, a senior TDP leader opined, “Whether it will help him get into power or not, but it will definitely take him closer to people as padayatra is always a powerful mass contact programme in the country since the days of Independence.”“It will enable Lokesh interact with people, besides providing him an opportunity to know their problems and understand the ground-level situation better. Further, it will help him sharpen his leadership skills, besides making Lokesh more fit,” the TDP leader added.