The opposition TDP has almost finalised the padayatra schedule for its general secretary and former minister Nara Lokesh. He will embark on his padayatra from Kuppam Assembly constituency in Chittoor district on January 26.
Kuppam has been represented by his father and TDP president, N Chandrababu Naidu, since 1989 and never lost in the last seven elections. However, the party is said to be not doing well now with chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy focusing on it now and working to wrest the seat in the next election.
Meanwhile, the TDP had named Lokesh padayatra as Yuva Galam, aiming to reach out to the youth on issues of unemployment, industrial growth, and investment promotion.
The padayatra by Lokesh has been on cards for over one year. There were also discussions about who would take up the padayatra. At one point of time, Chandrababu Naidu planned a bus yatra to reach out to more sections of the people.
However, it was finally decided that Lokesh should undertake the padayatra, which was accepted by the party politburo.
The NRI and IT teams of the TDP have been working on it for the past three months and sources say that it was finally cleared by Chandrababu Naidu. The padayatra would be held for 400 days from Kuppam in Chittoor to Itchapuram in Srikakulam district.
Itchapuram had been the destination for the padayatras earlier by Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, his daughter Y S Sharmila and son Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Lokesh plans to cover all the Assembly constituencies along the route and the route map is likely to be released in a week or so. The party leadership is busy procuring the logistics for the padayatra, including the caravan for Lokesh to take rest.
