Congress leaders bitten by yatra bug

Gadwal: It seems padayatra frenzy has gripped the Telangana Congress as two more leaders sought permission from the high command to take up the yatra and forwarded their requests.

Gadwal MLA DK Aruna and Nalgonda MLA Komatireddy Venkat Reddy sought permission to start padayatras. Already the party has given permission for taking out padayatras to former MP Ponnam Prabhakar, MLA Revanth Reddy and TPCC working president Bhatti Vikramarka. DK Aruna who has been camping in Delhi presently has sought permission of the high command for a Statewide padayatra.  

Though the party high command wants them to confine padayatras to limited distances, the leaders have been demanding permission to take up yatras throughout the State. Revanth Reddy and Bhatti Vikramarka also have reportedly sought permission to take up Statewide padayatra.

The Congress high command reportedly told the leaders who were given permission for padayatras to complete their tours by June 1. The yatras should be started after the end of the Bus Yatra. The Bus Yatra will commence on February 26 and will end on May 15. They have been told to conduct padayatras from their respective district headquarters to Hyderabad. Revanth was told to take up yatra from Mahbubnagar to Hyderabad, Ponnam from Karimnagar to Hyderabad and Bhatti from Khammam to Hyderabad.

However, the leaders who want to take up padayatras are understood to have sought more time so that they could tour the entire State. According sources, the high command was not inclined to give permission for Statewide padayatras.

Padayatras have become the most popular tool for mingling with people among politicians after former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy toured the combined Andhra Pradesh on foot for two months in 2002.

His padayatra turned the people against the then Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government and brought the Congress into power with unprecedented majority. It made Rajasekhar Reddy the strongest leader in the Congress then.

Taking a cue from Rajasekhar Reddy, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu also held a padayatra in 2013 and was able to win in the newly-created Andhra Pradesh in 2014. 

At present, YSR Congress Party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy is touring Andhra Pradesh on foot. Senior leaders of Telangana Congress have been demanding the party leadership to take up similar tours to attract voters for a few months as senior leader and MLA Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and MLA Revanth Reddy insisted on giving permission to the yatras.