Rahul yatra Day 41: YSR loyalists pitch in to ensure no lean patch in brief Andhra leg

It was one of Rayalaseema’s tallest leaders, former CM and Congress stalwart Dr Y S Rajashekara Reddy, who had first suggested that Rahul lead the party and “one day” become PM.

Also, riding on anger over the state’s bifurcation, it is YSR’s son and incumbent CM Jagan Reddy, who formed his own party, YSRCP, in 2011 and played a major role in wiping out the Congress out from the state.

Despite a majority of the Congress base now with Jagan’s YSRCP, however, many in Rayalaseema remain loyal to the Grand Old Party.

On Tuesday, as Rahul walked from the Halaharvi bus stop in Kurnool, he was joined by local party leaders and hundreds of workers carrying the Tricolour and the Congress flag.

“It was a privilege to receive and walk with him (Rahul),” said N Uttam Kumar Reddy, the party’s former Telangana unit chief, who has been tasked with coordinating the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana leg of the march.

“Thousands of people from across Kurnool and nearby districts came and participated in the walk. We are very enthused by the tremendous public response.’’

Along the way, Rahul also interacted with farmer delegations and expressed concern that many were “desperately waiting” for compensation “after becoming victims of displacement and resettlement.”

State Congress chief Dr Sake Sailajanath and working president Shaik Mastan also took part in the march, which halted for the night at Chagi village near Adoni.

Rahul’s Yatra had earlier, briefly, passed through Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district bordering Karnataka on October 14.

Scheduled to continue in Andhra Pradesh till October 21, the march will again enter Karnataka as it proceeds towards Telangana.