Hyderabad: The resounding success of Bhatti Vikramarka’s padayatra has many running for cover. The Congress Legislature Party Leader, undeterred by the harsh weather, concluded 109 days of the People’s March Padayatra in Khammam on Saturday. This padayatra covering 1,360 km in 17 districts and 36 constituencies from Adilabad to Khammam transversing 750 villages has transformed into another people’s revolutionary movement.
Such is the success of Bhatti Vikramarka’s padayatra in exposing the failures of the BRS government and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s false promises that the inaccessible KCR perforce had to leave the comfortable confines of his farm house and reach out to people.
KCR who whiled away more than nine years without resolving the podu lands issue suddenly had a change of heart and distributed some pattas today! The People’s March Padayatra has shaken the foundation of the BRS government that has been ruling the Telangana State in a dictatorial manner. Consequently, CM KCR, Ministers KTR, Harish Rao and other ministers, under tremendous pressure, have launched damage control tours extensively, observers said.
Further, Bhatti Vikramarka’s padayatra has reinvigorated the Congress Party, motivated and inspired the cadre and evoked tremendous and spontaneous response from people who are exasperated with the BRS rule. The CLP leader’s determined padayatra notwithstanding the unrelenting summer heat and unexpected downpours continued for 1,350 km despite him being taken ill with heatstroke. The overwhelming response to the padayatra has become a matter of deep concern for rival parties.
Bhatti Vikramarka’s padayatra has seen a perceptible shift in public mood – a resurgence that is taking place improving the prospects of the Congress Party. Sensing the shift in dynamics, leaders of other political parties are now keen to join the Congress Party. The stage has been set for Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Jupally Krishna Rao, Gurunath Reddy and other leaders to join the Telangana Jana Garjana public meeting being organised on July 2 to mark the completion of Bhatti Vikramarka’s padayatra.
The just concluded padayatra is a powerful reminder of the successful padayatra by the late Y S Rajasehar Reddy. The momentum is building up from the grassroot level with the masses and cadre going in full throttle to bring the Congress Party back to power in the next elections as the party’s graph has gone up significantly in the last few months.
As a true mass leader, Bhatti Vikramarka has refrained from talking about himself during the padayatra. He has concentrated on explaining repeatedly what the Congress Party would do if it came to power demonstrating his political sincerity. Like the late Rajasekhar Reddy, Bhatti Vikramarka listened to people’s woes and gave them hope and confidence that Indiramma Rajyam would come back to bring prosperity and happiness to every household in the state. He instilled confidence in people that the Congress Party and Congress government would work to alleviate their sufferings of the last 10 years.
Many political analysts have commented that the padayatra has brought back tribal people, adivasis, weaker sections, minorities and downtrodden people back into the Congress Party’s fold . The potent combination of Karnataka’s election results and Bhatti Vikramarka’s padayatra has made the BRS and BJP lose steam in the face of the masses’ growing support for the Congress Party. The internal squabbles among Congress Party leaders stand erased and all of them have come together to work unitedly from the same platform. In view of all these positive developments, the perception has been deepening that Bhatti Vikramarka’s padayatra will catapult the Congress Party into power.
Devoid of pomposity, Bhatti Vikramarka conducted his padayatra in a humble and simple way identifying himself with ordinary people.
He made night halts in humble tents along with his fellow party workers who were walking with him and broke bread with them. Since the start of padayatra on March 16 from Pippiri village of Adilabad district, Bhatti Vikramarka has celebrated festivals of all religions and even his birthday among people along the route.
The padayatra was inaugurated by the AICC General Secretary and Congress Party- Telangana In charge Manik Rao Thakre. On March 19, Bhatti Vikramarka paid homage at the martyrs’ memorial at Indravelli. On April 14, the Satyagraha Sabha was held at Mancherial town as part of the padayatra and the AICC President Mallikarjun Khagre graced the successful meeting attended by lakhs of people as the chief guest. Enroute his padayatra, Bhatti also visited several temples including the Yadadri temple. Pylons were unveiled at Gummadipalli and Ponnekallu to mark important milestones of the padayatra and huge public meetings held at Mancherial and Jadcherla.
Another noteworthy feature of the padayatra was the participation of AICC and PCC leaders in different stretches to inspire and enthuse people to elect Congress Party candidates in the next election in order to achieve the objectives of Telangana for which the state was formed by the then UPA government.
AICC President Kharge, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvender Singh Such, TamilNadu CLP leader Selva Peruthugai, Chattisgarh In charge MP Ranjitha Ranjan and others expressed their solidarity with the Telangana CLP leader’s padayatra. There is little doubt that this padayatra has proved to be a gamechanger. Many more interesting developments are sure to unfold.
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