Hyderabad: YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy will end his three-month-long padyatra in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday with grand celebrations planned in the state’s Ichchapuram town in Srikakulam district.
Jagan Mohan, who had launched the padyatra in November 2017, following in his father, the late Rajasekhara Reddy’s footsteps, will also unveil a pillar erected to mark the end-point of his walkathon.
According to his party, Jagan has covered over 3,000 km and 134 constituencies, calling it the longest padyatra undertaken by any political in India. With the slogan ‘Ravali Jagan’ (Jagan should come), the YSR Congress chief is said to have reached out to 2 crore people.
Analysts say the tour may have helped Jagan tap into the Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s dipping popularity, particularly after the TDP-Congress alliance’s drubbing in neighbouring Telangana. The YSR Congress has even attributed Naidu’s decision to walk out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance to Jagan’s yatra.
“The response for the padyatra forced Naidu to make desperate moves, including pulling out of the NDA. Naidu had to make a U-turn and support the demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh, whereas for the past four years he was okay with the special package promoted by the NDA,” said YSR Congress leader Vijayasai Reddy.
With this padyatra, Jagan has joined the tried and tested tradition of yatras in Andhra politics. Jagan’s father Rajasekhara Reddy, who was popularly referred to as YSR, had undertaken a padyatra in 2003 to take on Chandrababu Naidu, following which he himself became the CM.
Naidu himself is no stranger to such walkathons. The TDP supremo had completed one in 2012, covering more than 2,000 km.
As history repeats itself with YSR’s son challenging Naidu, whether the outcome too repeats itself will be known when Andhra Pradesh heads to Assembly polls along with Lok Sabha elections.
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