YSRCP chief and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Guntur visit turned into a people’s show of strength, giving a glimpse of what is to come.
With just three years left for the coalition government, Jagan has already announced that he will launch a padayatra in another 18 months, spending one and a half years directly among the people.
What happened in Guntur is being seen as a trailer to that padayatra.
From Tadepalli to Guntur, Jagan received a massive welcome at every step. Supporters lined the roads in huge numbers, waving, cheering and stopping his convoy repeatedly.
Youth, women and elderly people all turned up, ignoring police attempts to restrict the crowd.
Jagan’s visit was to console former minister Ambati Rambabu and his family after the attack on their house and office.
Despite Rambabu being the victim, police arrested him and sent him to jail, which angered YSRCP cadres.
Jagan took nearly five to six hours to cover the 40-km stretch, clearly showing the scale of public response.
At Rambabu’s residence, Jagan inspected the damage, spoke to the family and later launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan and minister Nara Lokesh.
He warned that politics of hatred and violence would have serious consequences in the future and accused the ruling party of targeting opposition leaders.
Jagan also raised the Tirumala laddu controversy, saying SIT findings exposed the ruling leaders’ false claims and demanded an apology to devotees.
Throughout the visit, YSRCP cadres raised slogans and celebrated Jagan’s presence. The Guntur tour has clearly boosted morale within the party.
If this is the response now, party circles say, the upcoming padayatra could see an even bigger surge of support.