YS Jagan bus yatra from April to take on Pawan Kalyan’s Varahi yatra

AMARAVATI: Call it design or sheer coincidence, Andhra Pradesh is likely to witness a battle of political wits in the form of bus yatras by two of its most prominent personalities around the same time this year.

If reports are to be believed, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP President YS Jaganmohan Reddy has decided to embark on a bus yatra starting from April, 2023, to consolidate his party’s clout and image among the public. Latest reports claim that YS Jagan was of the feeling that April would be the most ideal time for him to start going into the people and reach out to all corners of the state before the next general elections. The decision is also said to have been hastened by the speculation surrounding the possibilities of an early poll.

According to these reports, YS Jagan intends to visit at least two villages in every mandal and have direct interactions with the people. The YSRCP chief has already expressed his eagerness in the past to start reaching out to the masses once again. He wants to gauge the public mood and get their feedback on the various welfare schemes being implemented by his government, in an effort to fine-tune his strategies for the big electoral fight. He revealed his intentions to this effect when he first ordered his MLAs and other people’s representatives to actively participate in the ‘Gadapa Gadapaku Mana Prabhutvam’ (Our governance to every doorstep) initiative.

But – as the reports claim – by deciding to launch his bus yatra from April, 2023, YS Jagan is not only timing it with a similar endeavour of Jana Sena President Pawan Kalyan on his campaign chariot Varahi, he is also throwing a gauntlet to one of his main political adversaries and vocal critics in the state.

Though no dates have yet been formally announced for the much-hyped bus yatra, the actor-turned-politician is widely expected to hit the road on his ‘campaign beast’ in the next few weeks and well before April. Having vowed to not let the YSRCP retain power in Andhra Pradesh, Pawan Kalyan is determined to take the bull by its horns and is looking forward to making the most of his bus yatra to crystallise the anti-incumbency sentiment against the ruling party.

In fact, Pawan Kalyan, in all likelihood, will have the perceived edge over YS Jagan’s bus yatra with the first-mover advantage, provided he swings into action weeks in advance. But as is his wont, YS Jagan appears to be strongly investing his faith in his basket of welfare schemes which he hopes would keep the wider sections of beneficiaries firmly in his grasp.

However, with a high chance of some of their schedules coinciding with the other’s, it naturally raises the prospect for a fascinating political slugfest. The two big names of Andhra Pradesh politics taking on each other through their bus yatras is certain to make for a high-voltage showdown.

And a bit more spice to this could also be added from Nara Lokesh’s Yuva Galam padayatra which has already begun in the state amid mixed reactions.