Sharmila enters Khammam

D Gopi Vijayawada: The YSR Congress leader Y S Sharmila had completed her 27-day long Maro Prajarpasthanam Padayatra in Krishna district on Monday and entered the neighbouring Khammam district. Sharmila, who had entered the city on March 26 from Guntur district, had covered 14 Assembly segments spread over 23 mandals and 105 villages in the district. She had walked for 340.8 km in the district holding racha banda and grama sabhas during her walk. Starting with the Vijayawada West Assembly segment, Sharmila had covered Vijayawada Central, East, Penamaluru, Pamarru, Pedana, Machilipatnam, Gudivada, Kaikaluru, Nuzvid, Tiruvur, Mylavaram, Nandigama and Jaggaiahpet segments before she entered Khammam. The young campaigner of the YSR Congress was able to draw impressive crowd when she entered the Vijayawada city and later addressed a public meeting at Gudivada, besides the last leg at Jaggaiahpet. In other places, including the district headquarters town, Machilipatnam, she was not able to pull the crowd. Though the Congress legislators, Perni Venkatramaiah and Jogi Ramesh, from Machilipatnam and Pedana respectively, have come to the party fold during her visit, the party could not make use of it to mobilize crowd for her padayatra. It was only in Gudivada that her public meeting had an impressive crowd with the local MLA Kodali Nani taking it seriously and mobilising the masses. Having come from the Telugu Desam, Kodali Nani took the Sharmila's public meeting and padayatra as a reply to his critics from the Telugu Desam. After the impressive crowd in Gudivada, it was only in Jaggaiahpet that she could see the huge gathering for her meeting. Even in Mylavaram, where the party leaders were expected to challenge the leadership of the TD legislator and the party's district unit president, Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, have failed to project their strength. Though the party leaders and legislators were present, the Mylavaram town could not see the crowd on the expected lines. However, it was only in Jaggaiahpet, the home constituency of the party district unit chief, Samineni Udaya Bhanu, the party was able to mobilize impressive crowd for the yatra. Sharmila, who camped at Share Mohmmadpet on Sunday night, started her yatra in the evening and entered Vallabhi village of Madhira Assembly segment in Khammam district after crossing Gandrai village of Krishna. She would be touring the Khammam district for the next 15 days walking for 200 kms.