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Journalism of Courage
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.
The yatra halted for 79 days after Naidu was arrested in September in a case of alleged corruption but Lokesh was back in the streets again last month after his father came out on bail. In total, Lokesh traversed through 97 Assembly seats and covered about 3,000 km.
Did Lokesh make a mistake?
A few TDP insiders said Lokesh missed an opportunity to capitalise on his father’s arrest politically. “The yatra was gaining momentum and people had started to take Lokesh more seriously when he abruptly paused it. He should have gone all-out during the time Naidu was imprisoned. It would have garnered him sympathy and support,” said a party leader from Srikakulam district, considered a TDP stronghold.
Many leaders believe that Lokesh did not put in the hard yards like Jagan did in 2019. “It is clear that Jagan’s yatra was more widespread. Images of people willingly walking with him for long stretches in 2019 were not uncommon. Nothing really of that scale happened during the ‘Yuva Galam’,” said another TDP leader.
Who covered more ground?
Jagan also covered more ground, travelling more than 3,600 km. Even in terms of the number of Assembly constituencies, Jagan reached around 115 while Lokesh went to 97. Lokesh undertook the march for 226 days while Jagan’s padyatra lasted for 341 days.
While Jagan projected his vision for the state — Navaratnalu, or nine gems — Lokesh just attacked the YSRCP government on a host of issues and promised to make Amaravati the capital of the state if the TDP was voted back to power. The YSRCP’s “Navaratnalu” is believed to be one of the most significant reasons for Jagan’s victory. While the YSRCP leader’s yatra went on uninterrupted, Lokesh faced several hurdles. He was initially denied permission to hold the yatra and then had to suspend it after Naidu’s arrest.
What next and will it affect state politics?
The Yuva Galam concluded in the Aganampudi area of Visakhapatnam district, the place where his father ended the Vasthunna Mee Kosam (coming for you) march in 2013 that he had undertaken to similarly reinvent himself and give a boost to the party.
A grand event, the Yuva Galam Vijayotsava Sabha, is scheduled to be held in Vizianagaram district on Wednesday to mark the yatra’s success. TDP bigwigs such as Naidu, Hindupur MLA N Balakrishna, and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan are likely to attend the event.
But, both YSRCP leaders and some in the TDP claimed that the yatra would not have any impact on the elections. “No one has taken Lokesh seriously till now. He did not even manage to win his seat (Mangalagiri) in 2019. The yatra is a joke. People are being brought in for the yatra. He enjoys no support,” said a senior YSRCP leader from Vijayawada.
Some TDP leaders said any gains that the party makes in the elections would be due to the anti-incumbency factor and not due to Lokesh’s yatra. “It is a known fact that people are not happy with Jagan’s rule, especially due to confusion regarding the capital. Naidu’s appeal to voters that it is his last election may resonate more than the yatra,” said a party leader on the condition of anonymity.
