TDP cadres upbeat over Lokesh's padayatra

Tirupati: TDP leaders in the combined Chittoor district have been overwhelmed with joy as party national general secretary Nara Lokesh has decided to start his padayatra from Kuppam which is the stronghold of his father and party chief N Chandrababu Naidu. They were of the view that it will give the much needed motivation to party cadres ahead of the next election. The padayatra will cover all 14 constituencies in the erstwhile Chittoor district before entering into Anantapur district.

The party leaders, however, have maintained that they did not get any details from the party head office about the complete programme. "Once we get any information, entire party workers will plunge into action to complete all works to make the padayatra successful. We will also conduct a meeting with all senior leaders soon after the communication from the party top leadership," said a senior leader in Tirupati.

The party leaders have been welcoming the decision of Lokesh to launch his padayatra from Kuppam constituency which has been electing Chandrababu Naidu as their MLA continuously since 1989. They were of the view that it will give a major boost to the party workers in that constituency where YSRCP has been focussing intensely with a determined bid to defeat Naidu in the next elections.

According to sources, the tentative route map was finalised already for the padayatra from Kuppam to Itchapuram which covers all 175 constituencies in between. Each constituency may have one public meeting. After the commencement of padayatra in Kuppam, it will proceed in Palamaner, Puthalapattu, Chittoor, GD Nellore, Nagari, Satyavedu, Srikalahasti, Tirupati, Chandragiri, Punganur, Piler, Madanapalle and Thamballapalle and from there it will enter into Kadiri in Anantapur district. Meanwhile, TDP supremo Naidu is expected to visit Kuppam constituency for three days later this month. He already conveyed his decision to the party local leaders and asked them to prepare groundwork for the visit. The detailed schedule may be finalised soon.