Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu’s son and party general secretary Nara Lokesh is flexing his muscles to take up his marathon padayatra across Andhra Pradesh from January 27.
But the party leaders are sceptical about the conduct of padayatra, as they are apprehensive that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government might not allow Lokesh to take up the programme citing law and order issues.
“After watching the kind of violent incidents in Macherla town and the hurdles created by YSRC rank and file to the padayatra of Amaravati farmers, one wonders whether the Jagan government would allow Lokesh to embark on such a padayatra,” a TDP leader said.
The police are unlikely to give permission to the padayatra to Lokesh on the ground that he might provoke the ruling party supporters by making harsh comments against the Jagan Mohan Reddy government and the YSRCP.
Even if Lokesh approaches the court and gets permission, the police department might not allow him to take up the marathon walk, as the YSRCP leaders and cadre would launch counter rallies during the course of padayatra and it might lead to law and order problems wherever he goes.
Since Jagan doesn’t want anybody to create any ill-will or anti-establishment atmosphere in the state, he might not allow the police to give permission to Lokesh padayatra.
And the TDP leader, too, would not keep quiet but attack the Jagan government and it would lead to a tense situation in the state.
As per the original plan, Lokesh would embark on the padayatra starting from Kuppam, his father’s home constituency in Chittoor district and ending at Itchapuram in Srikakulam district on the borders of Odisha.
The TDP general secretary said his padayatra would cover a total distance of 4,000 km in a span of 400 days, indicating that he would walk, on an average, about 10 km a day.
He said he would walk for four days in Mangalagiri constituency from which he had unsuccessfully contested in 2019 assembly elections and in the remaining days, he would try to cover all the constituencies in the state.