Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national general secretary and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh Naidu on Tuesday reached the halfway point in his 4,000 kilometre Yuva Galam (Voice of Youth), at Kothapalli, in the Kavali Assembly segment of the Nellore district in the state. Lokesh, 40, distributed tricycles, wheelchairs and hearing aids to persons with disability and spent time with local fishermen in the day. At a public meeting held in the evening, Lokesh said the foot march had helped him learn “about the aspirations of the youth. The leader hit out at the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP)’s policies and said there was a “Jagan virus that was haunting the state”. "The only vaccine to it is Chandrababu Naidu,” he added. “Today, I have not only reached the 2000 kilometre milestone but have also completed 150 days of the padayatra. Though the state (combined Andhra Pradesh) got bifurcated with a deficit budget, Chandrababu Naidu in his position as the CM ruled the State without passing on this deficit to the common man,” he said. He then alleged that under Reddy’s tenure over the past four years, “the power tariff has been revised nine times and the state transport bus fares have been revised three times”. He added, “The prices of petrol and diesel are the highest in the State and various taxes have been imposed on the people causing heavy financial burden on them.” Lokesh had started the padayatra, set to cover 125 of the 175 Assembly constituencies in the state, on January 27 from Chittoor district’s Kuppam — a constituency his father has been representing since 1989. With his son leading the march, it is clear that Naidu effectively passed on the baton of the party. Through the outreach programme, the TDP is hoping to galvanise its cadre ahead of the 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
