After taking a break for nearly four months, YSR Telangana party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s sister, Y S Sharmila, has decided to resume her padayatra, with effect from March 1.
According to her party sources, Sharmila took this decision after discussing with her party’s senior colleagues. She would resume her padayatra from Kondapakagudem in Nalgonda district, the same place where she halted it on November 10.
Sources said from March 1, Sharmila would continue the marathon padayatra for 4,000 km, without a break, unless there are some other restrictions.
She might continue her padayatra till the middle of the next year, which would be closer to the assembly elections in the state.
Sharmila, who kicked off her padayatra on October 20 from Chevella, a sentimental place for her father late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, walked for 21 days before applying brakes on November 10, after the stat election commission announced model code of conduct in the wake of MLC election under local bodies’ quota.
Sharmila had covered 150 villages spanning six assembly constituencies – Chevella, Maheshwaram, Shamshabad, Ibrahimpatnam, Devarakonda and Munugode during the padayatra and she claimed that she had received huge response from the people.
Sharmila claimed that she would resume the padayatra after the model code of conduct comes to an end, which is likely by December 16. But she did not do so, because of the third wave of Coronavirus.
There was a talk that Sharmila might altogether call off the padayatra, as she had not been getting expected response from the people.
It was also believed that Sharmila was also upset with the withdrawal of contract by her political strategist Prashant Kishor.