Скачать или смотреть NARA LOKES/ TDP/: CBN/ YOUVAGALAM/TIRUPATHI / PADAYATRA

Lokesh abruptly paused the yatra, which concluded on Monday, following his father’s arrest in September. Instead, he should have gone all-out against YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to garner sympathy, say party insiders

Faced with his party’s shrinking political footprint, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Nara Lokesh started the “Yuva Galam (Voice of the Youth)” padayatra on January 27 to connect with people and revive the party ahead of the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. He concluded it on Monday but the jury is out on whether this will have any impact.

Ever since Lokesh kickstarted the yatra from his father and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu’s home turf Kuppam, comparisons have been drawn between his march and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s “Praja Sankalpa Yatra”. According to political observers, Lokesh was trying to replicate what Jagan achieved electorally following his yatra. In 2019, the YSRCP swept both the Assembly elections, winning 151 of the 175 seats, and the Lok Sabha polls, winning 22 of 25 seats in the state.