Nara Lokesh’s Yuvagalam Pada Yatra Deferred

Amaravati: In the wake of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest and imprisonment in the multi-crore skill development scam, party’s general secretary Nara Lokesh on Thursday announced the indefinite postponement of Yuvagalam pada yatra, a mass contact programme.

Lokesh, who has been campaigning in Delhi for the last few days, was supposed to resume his padayatra from September 29. With the state CID adding him as an accused in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road case, the TDP scion may put off his return to the state. 

Lokesh had embarked on the 4,000-km pada yatra on January 27 to reach out to people and galvanise support for the party ahead of the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections. However, he had to halt the yatra on September 9 after his father's arrest.

As the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Naidu’s plea in the skill development scam case on October 3, the TDP Action Committee has called a meeting of senior leaders on Friday to discuss the future course of action. Lokesh is expected to attend the party meeting through video conference. With party chief Naidu sent to judicial remand and Lokesh staying put in the national capital, the Opposition party leaders are clueless about the leadership.