Nara Lokesh (born 23 January 1983) is an Indian politician. He is the son of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu. He also served as Panchayat Raj, Rural development and IT and Communication minister through an MLC post.[3] He was severely criticized for not contesting the elections and becoming a minister in his father Chandrababu Naidu's cabinet.[4][5][6] However, after great criticism for not contesting any election, he finally chose to contest as an MLA for Mangalagiri Assembly Constituency and lost to YSR Congress Party candidate Alla Ramakrishna Reddy in 2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections.[7][8]
Both he and his father, TDP chief, Chandrababu Naidu suffered a major political setback in the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Elections by winning only 23 seats out of the total 175 seats.[9] This was TDP's worst defeat ever in the history.[10][11]
Education edit
Lokesh has an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Bachelor of Science with a specialization in Management Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon University.[12]
Political career edit
Early political career edit
Lokesh started his political career in TDP. In 2014, Lokesh became TDP's General Secretary, a member of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the party. He managed the party, interacted with party workers and citizens, and helped set the party policies and strategy.[13] He claimed in January 2013 that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party derived the Direct Benefit Transfer System from a TDP proposal submitted to the central government.[14] He was first elected as the Member of Legislative Council in 2017[15].Though he never won a direct election, he held several key positions in both party and state of Andhra Pradesh. His father N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh made appointed him as a cabinet minister for IT, Panchayati Raj and Rural development in 2017 through.[16][17][18] In 2019, he unsuccessfully contested from the Mangalgiri constituency narrowly losing by a margin of 5,337 votes[19] to Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, a close aide of Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.[20][21]
Lokesh is credited with successfully managing the TDP party's membership drive that added five million members. The digital technology used by the onboarding team – tablets, live data feeds and a real-time dashboard – was the first such use for enrolling and managing party members in the country.[22]
Development and welfare models edit
Lokesh has been one of the Trustees of NTR Memorial Trust (popularly known as NTR Trust) on Healthcare, Education, Skills Enhancement and Disaster Management. He oversees the disaster response program of the Trust that operates in times of natural calamities.[citation needed] Each active member of the party will get a personal insurance cover of ₹2 lakh in case of a fatal accident, ₹2 lakh for permanent disability, ₹1 lakh for the partially disabled, and ₹50,000 in case of accidental injuries.[23]
Lokesh-led party online membership drive fetched TDP 53+ lakh members.[24]
Padayatra edit
On 27 January 2023, Lokesh started Yuva Galam Padayatra for youth of Andhra Pradesh for 400 days with a road-map to walk 4,000 kms from Kuppam to Ichchapuram.[25][26]
Electoral statistics edit
| Year | Constituency | Party | Opponent | Majority | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Mangalagiri | TDP | Alla Ramakrishna Reddy(YSR Congress) | 5,337 | Lost | [27] |
Awards and recognition edit
Lokesh won the "Skoch Person of the Year" award in 2018, for his innovative use of technology while resolving issues related to drinking water supply, transparency in governance, and other activities under his Panchayati Raj portfolio.[28]
In May 2018, he won the Business World magazine "Digital Leader of the Year" at the Businessworld Digital India summit in New Delhi. The award recognises the best utilisation of technology in governance.[29] The same year, the Kalam Centre for Livable Planet Earth and Sustainable Development recognised Lokesh's efforts in the successful integration of technology in rural governance and awarded the innovation award to Andhra Pradesh in the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development category. He was also awarded the Kalam Innovation in Governance Award in 2018.[citation needed]
In September 2018, Lokesh was invited to represent India at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Entrepreneurship Summit and Annual Meeting of World Champions in Tianjin, China.[30] In the following month, he became the only Indian politician to be nominated to the WEF's Network of Global Future Councils (NGFC), an interdisciplinary knowledge group that deliberates on agile governance in terms of emerging technologies and business models.[31]
Personal life edit
In 2007, Lokesh married Brahmani, his first cousin on maternal side and daughter of actor and politician Nandamuri Balakrishna.[12][32] The couple has a son, Devansh.[33] Lokesh is food enthusiast and enjoys spending quality time with his young son whenever he is free.
References edit
- ^ "Nara Lokesh: Ideological, political heir to NT Rama Rao's legacy". India TV News. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ "Nara Lokesh Son Name Devaansh". page3hyd.in. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Chandrababu Naidu's son Nara Lokesh takes oath as MLC amid chanting of hymns". The Times of India. 30 March 2017. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "Lokesh reluctant to divulge plans for electoral debut". The Hindu. 29 December 2014. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "Why TDP's a party in trouble: Demoralised cadre, ageing Naidu & not-yet-ready Nara Lokesh". 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Chandrababu's Son Nara Lokesh Reacts to Being Called 'Gem of AP'". 6 April 2019.
- ^ "There is no point in searching for a safe seat: Nara Lokesh". The Times of India. 8 April 2019. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "Andhra Assembly polls: TDP's Nara Lokesh loses to YSR Congress's Ramakrishna Reddy". India Today. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "AP Election Results: YSR Congress storms to power in Andhra with landslide win". The Economic Times. 23 May 2019.
- ^ "N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP staring at worst defeat in Andhra assembly". Hindustan Times. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "Andhra Pradesh election results 2019: Is it end of the road for Chandrababu Naidu?". cnbctv18.com. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ a b Janyala, Sreenivas (16 February 2009). "Their fathers' sons". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "Lokesh emerges as No. 2 in TDP". The Times of India. 12 July 2016. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ Times of AP Rahul stole my idea says Lokesh Nara 1 January 2013
- ^ "Andhra Pradesh CM's son, six others elected to Legislative Council unanimously". The New Indian Express. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "In the Heir: Dynasty Politics in the TDP Seem Headed for a 'Sonset'". The Wire. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ "Chandrababu Naidu's son Nara Lokesh takes oath as Minister". The Hindu. 2 April 2017. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "Andhra Pradesh CM's son, six others elected to Legislative Council unanimously". The New Indian Express. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "Andhra Pradesh assembly elections: Narrow margin of defeat key reason for TDP picking Mangalagiri for Nara Lokesh | Vijayawada News - Times of India". The Times of India. TNN. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ "Andhra Assembly polls: TDP's Nara Lokesh loses to YSR Congress's Ramakrishna Reddy". India Today. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "Andhra Assembly polls: TDP's Nara Lokesh loses to YSR Congress's Ramakrishna Reddy". India Today. 24 May 2019. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ PTI (3 November 2014). "TDP launches membership enrolment drive; to enroll members from neighbouring states". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "TDP launches membership enrolment drive & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". 3 November 2014.
- ^ "Nara Lokesh driving TDP government for Papa Chandrababu Naidu & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". 3 January 2015.
- ^ "Yuvagalam Padayatra: Nara Lokesh interacts with local farmers at Santhipuram weekend shandy". The Times of India. 29 January 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "Restrain cops from disrupting Yuva Galam Padayatra: TDP". The New Indian Express. 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "Andhra Assembly polls: TDP's Nara Lokesh loses to YSR Congress's Ramakrishna Reddy". India Today. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ "Lokesh wins 'Skoch Person of the Year- Governance' award". The New Indian Express. 20 June 2018.
- ^ ANI (18 May 2018). "Nara Lokesh receives award for 'Digital Leader of the Year'". Business Standard.
- ^ ENS (13 September 2018). "Nara Lokesh on 6-day investment hunt, to take part in World Economic Forum meet in China'". The New Indian Express.
- ^ WEF (12 November 2018). "Global Future Council on Agile'". World Economic Forum.
- ^ "In last-ditch attempt, Naidu inducts daughter-in-law Nara Brahmani into TDP's campaign". 9 April 2019.
- ^ "Chandrababu Naidu's daughter-in-law Nara Brahmani, son ride Hyderabad Metro". The Times of India. 19 August 2019.
External links edit
