After a three-day break following the death of Kannada thespian Rajkumar, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani resumed his Bharat Suraksha Yatra on Saturday, from Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh.
During the five-day long Andhra Pradesh leg of his yatra, Advani is scheduled to address a series of meetings in the Naxalite-affected Telangana and the faction-ridden Rayalaseema regions, besides the state capital Hyderabad.
Advani's yatra through the state has generated considerable political interest as it comes against the backdrop of the saffron party recently declaring its support for the demand for a separate Telangana state.
Though BJP was the first party to have favoured statehood for Telangana when its state unit had passed a resolution to this effect in the run-up to the 1998 elections, it had kept the issue on the back-burner while in power at the Centre in return for the support from its then crucial ally Telugu Desam Party, which is strongly opposed to the bifurcation of the state.
After ending its seven year long alliance with TDP, it has now revived the Telangana card in a bid to regain its lost ground in the backward region.
Advani arrived by a special helicopter at the railway grounds at Guntakal in Anantapur district. He was received by senior party leaders including M Venkaiah Naidu, Bandaru Dattatreya, U Krishnamraju and state party president N Indrasena Reddy.
Soon after his arrival, Advani stepped into his rath and proceeded for the public meeting to be held in the town. He is scheduled to address public meetings at Anantapur and Hindupur in Rayalaseema region later in the day.
After an overnight stay at Hindupur, the former deputy prime minister will continue his yatra covering Kadiri in Anantapur district and Madanapalli and Pileru in Chittoor district before reaching the temple town of Tirupati where he will stay for the night.
On April 17, Advani will offer prayers at Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, before proceeding to Tamil Nadu for election campaign.
After one-day electioneering, he will arrive in Hyderabad on April 18 and address a public meeting at Nizam College Grounds. On April 19, Advani will pass through the sensitive Telangana region where tight security arrangements have been made all along the yatra route in view of the threat from Naxalites.
The senior BJP leader would cover Medak, Nizamabad and Adilabad districts in Telangana region before entering Maharashtra on April 20.
Complete coverage: The BJP's twin yatras