Ahead of the 2024 assembly polls, Nara Lokesh, the son of TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, who is also the General Secretary of the party, is set to launch his year-long statewide padayatra on January 27, 2023. The padayatra, which is named Yuva Galam, will start from Kuppam in Chittoor District and end in Ichchapuram in Srikakulam District.
Nara Lokesh's padayatra is scheduled for 400 days and he will walk about 4,000 kilometres.
Andhra Pradesh TDP president Atchennaidu said, "Yuva Galam is a campaign to mobilise the youth of Andhra Pradesh to participate in the agenda-setting process as well as raise their voices to express their opinions and demand change,".
Atchennaidu said, "Yuva Galam is a mass-outreach program by Nara Lokesh to sensitize the youth of Andhra Pradesh and voters to the prevalent issues in current governance and interact with them while walking 100 Assembly constituencies in the state".
He said that for three and a half years under the YSRCP government, BCs, SCs, STs, and all the communities were facing so many problems. He said that the padayatra would go on to meet all of them and understand their issues.
Also read | TDP Leader Dares Andhra Pradesh CM For Open Debate On State's Debts
The yatra is to set the agenda for the next elections by diverting the government’s attention to the issues and proposing a youth-centric agenda for the party.
People can participate in the yatra by giving a missed call to 96862 96862 , or signing up on YuvaGalam.com.
Padayatras have been integral to Andhra Pradesh politics.
In 2003 the then Congress Legislature Party leader YS Rajasekhara Reddy began his walk, covering 1470 km. The following year, he became the Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh.
TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu walked 2,340 kilometres in 2012 before returning to power in 2014.
In 2017, YS Jagan launched his 3,648-kilometre padayatra and became CM in 2019.