Hyderabad: Naidu completes longest padyatra

Visakhapatnam, April 27: After 7 months Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu has concluded his 'padyatra' (walkathon) on Saturday. A public meeting was held on the completion of the padyatra.

The padyatra was done to 'strengthen the party' prior to the 2014 elections. A 60-feet pylon was unveiled by Naidu to mark the culmination of 2,817 km long padyatra.

The 2187 km padyatra is the longest padyatra undertaken by a politician in the state

The 64-year-old broke the record of his bitter rival and late chief minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who had covered nearly 1,500 km in 64 days in 2003.

Senior TDP leader Kodela Sivaprasad Rao termed the padyatra a historic one. He said despite the health problems, Naidu undertook the walkathon to know people's problems and promised to solve them if party returns to power.

Political observers say the 'padyatra' boosted the moral of TDP cadre in the wake of setbacks including the defeat in the by-elections last year and the desertions by several party leaders and legislators to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and YSR Congress party.

It may be recalled that in 2003 Rajasekhara Reddy had walked 1,500 km across the state which helped the Congress party to come to power in 2004. Naidu had suffered the injury after the wooden steps of a dias, on which he was standing collapsed. While he was given immediate medical care, he has also been suffering from problems in his legs due to prolonged walking.

The TDP chief, began his padayatra last October from the Anantapur district. During the padayatra, Naidu announced welfare measures for the tribals which include 'housing, employment and other promises aimed at the uplift of the tribals'.

OneIndia News