Poll politics: Walkathon to resurrect TD across state

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, April 26, 2013: Records aside, the TD chief N. Chandrababu Naidu has aimed two birds with a stone, during his 2,800-kmlong walkathon “Vasthunna Meekosam“, which was termed as an historic attempt in Indian politics.

He tried to strike an emotional chord with the public, in an attempt to bring back the past glory of the party, amid growing threat from new entrant YSRC and the decade-old sub regional force TRS, infusing confidence among cadre, grass root leaders, who were in disarray being away from power since a decade.

However, the success of the walkathon will be known only when the results of the 2014 polls will be out. On Friday, Mr Naidu along with his family members, wife Bhuvaneshwari and son Lokesh, served lunch to the party workers at the camp site in Gollalapalem, where he rested for the day. He interacted with the party workers over lunch and later resumed his padayatra in the evening. Before embarking onto the day's scheduled padayatra, it had become a routine for Mr Naidu to interact with the local party workers.



He walked through 84 constituencies, 160 mandals, 28 municiplaities and an approximate 1253 villages in 16 districts during his 2,800 long pada yatra.

In many constituencies it worked like a magic by Naidu brokering peace between many warring leaders and  imparting some gyan to them to work like war soldiers for the party revival setting sights on 2014 polls, which are just a year away from here.

At many such meetings Naidu told workers, “You all should not rest for atleast a year from now. Strive for the party keeping aside family among other things like how I rededicated myself for the party. After coming to power I will take care of all your ‘needs’,”

Naidu would symbolically end his 207 day pada yatra launched on October 2, last year from Hindupur in Anantapur district on Saturday at Shivajinagar, near Kurmannapalem.

Though his pada yatra will end on Friday night after entering Kurmannapalem from Duvvada, after camping for the night, he will symbolically walk for half a  kilometer on Saturday before reaching the pylon arranged in Rajeevnagar  at about 3 pm..

The pylon was constructed at a cost of  Rs 3 crore will have three parts standing 60 feet tall and 26  feet wide. This will symbolize the conclusion of the Naidu’s Vastunna Meekosam.

From the pylon on Saturday, Naidu would be taken in an open top jeep followed by 10,000 motorcycles and 400 cars to the public meeting venue- AU engineering college grounds in the city. All eyes are also on heir apparent Nara Lokesh, who is expected to make his  first ever public appearance and speech at the historic meeting.

Over half a million people are expected to take part in the public meeting with entire city painted yellow with cutouts of leaders. Around 250 important leaders would be present on the special stage which was designed by experts drawn from Bengaluru. Around two lakh people could be accommodated in the ground while another three lakhs would make their presence all over the city clad in yellow. About 5,000 party workers from each constituency were asked to be present at the meeting.