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Andhra Pradesh: Nara Lokesh emerges from father’s shadow
Nara Lokesh, son of former chief minister and party president N Chandrababu Naidu, has come a long way in the state politics
From a “backroom boy” of Telugu Desam Party learning the nuances of politics a decade ago to a “dynamic young leader” brimming with confidence of leading the party from the front in the upcoming elections in Andhra Pradesh, Nara Lokesh, son of former chief minister and party president N Chandrababu Naidu, has come a long way in the state politics.
Let alone in the opposition parties, even leaders within the TDP did not take Lokesh seriously five years ago, after he lost the assembly elections from Mangalagiri constituency, which is part of Amaravati, a world-class capital city visualised by his father during his regime.
A post graduate in business administration from Stanford University, Lokesh was an executive director in his family business entity -Heritage Foods, before he plunged into active politics in 2014, when Naidu became the chief minister of residuary Andhra Pradesh after the bifurcation of combined state.
It was a tough task for him to prove himself as a leader, let alone the heir-apparent of Naidu, though he was made the TDP general secretary within months of entering the active politics. He remained within the shadow of his father’s gigantic personality in politics as a shy, unassuming and soft-spoken young man.
When Lokesh was nominated as an MLC and inducted into Naidu’s cabinet with an all-important portfolio of information technology and panchayat raj, his critics called it a “backdoor entry” into the government.
He was not a powerful public speaker then and lacked the oratorical skills, let alone speaking with command on subjects. Even in the state assembly, he used to fumble while answering queries from the members.
Though he was also made a member of the TDP’s politburo, he was still considered a political novice, let alone No. 2, as the party had several seniors who had been associated with it since its inception in 1982. His only identity was being Naidu’s son.
But Lokesh was keenly watching the state politics and learning the tricks of the trade from his seniors. He was mainly looking after the welfare of party workers and the youth wing.
The biggest challenge for Lokesh was to face the 2019 assembly elections. He chose Mangalagiri assembly constituency, which was part of Amaravati capital region, hoping that it was a safe constituency for him. But he suffered a defeat, albeit with a less margin of 5,200 votes in the hands of Alla Ramakrishna Reddy of the YSR Congress Party.
The humiliating defeat of the TDP in general and his own seat from Mangalagiri in particular was a big blow to his ambition of emerging as the successor of his father in the party. While some of the TDP leaders such as Gannavaram MLA Vallabhaneni Vamsi and Chirala MLA Karanam Balaram openly accused Lokesh of being responsible for the chaos in the party.
In last five years, Lokesh was subject to heavy attack and trolling by the YSRCP leaders. They used to call him a “loser” and “Andhra Pappu” and even subjected him to body shaming, as he was a little obese. People often used to compare him with K T Rama Rao, son of then Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who had mastered the politics within no time and grown into a mass leader.
“Perhaps, this criticism made him mentally stronger and enhanced his willpower, instead of demoralising him,” said political analyst Ramesh Kandula.
He said the last five years in opposition helped Lokesh grow into a strong and mature leader in the TDP. “The burly-looking leader quickly took to image-makeover, shed weight and became slim, changed his body language, gained comprehensive knowledge on the state politics and ability to deal with senior leaders and learnt crisis-management techniques, besides considerably improving his public speaking abilities,” Kandula said.
The marathon 3,132-km long state-wide padayatra he embarked on January 27, 2023, in the name of “Yuva Galam” transformed him into a comprehensive leader.
“For the first time, I witnessed people talking about Lokesh positively and coming voluntarily to see him. He got an opportunity to interact with various sections of people directly and understand their problems. It also changed his mindset towards grassroots-level politics,” said another political analyst M Rajesh of Visakhapatnam.
The real leadership qualities of Lokesh came to the fore when his father Naidu was arrested and sent to jail in the multi-crore skill development corporation scam. He suspended his padayatra and took over the party’s mantle.
“He even chaired the politburo meeting to take up state-wide agitations against the alleged illegal arrests of his father. He went to New Delhi to discuss with senior lawyers of the Supreme Court to fight his father’s case. He even fought the legal battles in cases like AP Fibernet scam and Amaravati Inner Ring Road scam filed against him by the Jagan government,” party spokesman N Vijaya Kumar said.
According to another TDP leader who refused to be quoted, it was Lokesh who had taken the initiative of bringing popular political strategist Prashant Kishor on the board to help the party in the coming elections.
After his father was released on bail in the last week of October, Lokesh resumed his padayatra and by the time, he ended on December 20, 2023, he gained the acknowledgement as No. 2 in the party.
“He is now said to be playing a key role in selection of candidates for the upcoming elections. Even the senior leaders in the party have fallen in line and are accepting his decisions,” Kandula said.
YSR Congress Party, however, is refusing to acknowledge Lokesh as a matured political leader. “The TDP leaders are desperately trying to lift him up and projecting him as a saviour. But he has no such chance, as the TDP itself is a sinking ship,” senior YSRCP leader and former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust board chairman Y V Subba Reddy said.
