Hyderabad, April 24 : Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) President K. Chandrasekhar Rao embarked on a bus yatra in Telangana on Wednesday to step up the party's campaign for next month's Lok Sabha polls.

The former Chief Minister launched his 17-day bus yatra after garlanding the statue of Telangana Talli at the BRS headquarters here. He then left for Miryalguda on a bus along with top BRS leaders.

The bus yatra passed through L.B. Nagar, Chout Uppal, and Nalgonda to reach Miryalaguda. After addressing a meeting at Miryalaguda on Wednesday evening, he will conduct a roadshow at Suryapet.

KCR, as Chandrasekhar is popularly known, got down from the bus at a few places in Nalgonda district and met the farmers, who explained to him the problems faced by them.

KCR will address meetings in 40 towns across 12 out of the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state during the bus yatra which will continue till May 10.

During the day, the BRS chief will inspect the agriculture fields and interact with the farmers to know about their problems due to the alleged lack of water and power supply and unseasonal rains. In the evenings, he will address public meetings.

KCR, who lost power to Congress four months ago, has already addressed public meetings in Karimnagar, Medak, and Chevella Lok Sabha constituencies.

Barring Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Chevella, Malkajgiri, and Adilabad, the bus yatra will cover all the other Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The BRS has made large-scale arrangements for the success of the bus yatra. Given the heat wave conditions prevailing in the state, the party is taking certain precautions. Wherever necessary, small buses have been arranged. Leaders have also been assigned responsibilities for the success of the yatra in their respective constituencies.

Adequate security measures are being made for KCR during the yatra, with the party deploying private security personnel, including bouncers.

After losing power to the Congress in the Assembly elections held in November 2023, the BRS has received a series of setbacks with five sitting MPs, three MLAs, and other elected representatives joining the Congress or the BJP.

In the Assembly polls, BRS bagged 39 seats in the 119-member House.

/IANS