As announced, YSR Telangana party president Y S Sharmila on Wednesday embarked on a 4,000 km-long marathon padayatra, with a hope to win over the confidence of the people and bring back the Rajanna Rajyam, the glorious rule of her father late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.
Sharmila’s mother Y S Vijayalakshmi flagged off the padayatra, after addressing an impressive public meeting at Shankarpalli cross roads in Chevella in Ranga Reddy district.
She would walk for a distance of 10 km on the first day, after which she would walk for about 12-15 km every day.
Sharmila has chosen Chevella town for obvious reasons, because it was from this place YSR started his “Praja Prasthanam” padayatra and walked for over 1500 km across the combined Andhra Pradesh in 2003 and brought the Congress party to power in 2004 assembly elections.
But one wonders whether this Chevella sentiment, which helped YSR to catapult to power, would work out for Sharmila. In fact, Chevella was a sentimental place for YSR for two reasons.
One, it was represented by Sabita Indra Reddy, whom YSR used to treat as his own sister. He strongly believed in this sister sentiment and in all his decisions later, YSR banked on this sister sentiment, despite Sabita being a widow.
Secondly, YSR chose Chevella for another reason. It has a famous Are Maisamma temple on the way to Chevella town and the deity is considered to be most powerful. Anybody who prayed at this temple would emerge victorious.
So, before kick-starting his padayatra from Chevella town, YSR stopped at this temple and conducted special prayers for the goddess, though by faith he was a Christian. And he believed that the prayers had fetched him victory in the next elections.
However, Sharmila has not followed this temple sentiment, as she is a staunch Christian by faith. Unlike her father, Sharmila doesn’t visit temples and so is the case with her mother Vijayamma. They go strictly by Bible.
This has led to the talk as to whether the Chevella sentiment would really work for Sharmila during the padayatra. In any case, she has to struggle a lot, rather than going by the sentiment, to achieve her goal.
