'''Nara Lokesh''' (born 23 January 1983) is an Indian politician. He is the son of [[Telugu Desam Party]] (TDP) chief [[N. Chandrababu Naidu]], as well as the grandson of the legendary actor and TDP founder [[N. T. Rama Rao|N.T.Rama Rao]]. He previouslyalso served as Panchayat Raj, Rural development and [[Minister of IT (Andhra Pradesh)|IT and Communication]] minister inthrough Andhraan Pradesh[[Member of Legislative Council|MLC]] post.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-03-30 |title=Chandrababu Naidu's son Nara Lokesh takes oath as MLC amid chanting of hymns |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/amaravati/chandrababu-naidus-son-nara-lokesh-takes-oath-as-mlc-amid-chanting-of-hymns/articleshow/57914425.cms |access-date=2023-07-26 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> He was severely criticized for not contesting the elections and becoming a minister in his father [[N. Chandrababu Naidu|Chandrababu Naidu's]] cabinet.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-12-29 |title=Lokesh reluctant to divulge plans for electoral debut |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/Lokesh-reluctant-to-divulgeplans-for-electoral-debut/article60364367.ece |access-date=2023-07-26 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://theprint.in/politics/why-tdps-a-party-in-trouble-demoralised-cadre-ageing-naidu-not-yet-ready-nara-lokesh/760832/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://www.thequint.com/elections/chandrababu-naidu-son-nara-lokesh-reacts-to-trolls-pappu-andhra-pradesh}}</ref> However, after great criticism for not contesting any election, he finally chose to contest as an [[Member of the Legislative Assembly|MLA]] for [[Mangalagiri Assembly constituency|Mangalagiri Assembly Constituency]] and lost miserably to [[YSR Congress Party]] candidate [[Alla Ramakrishna Reddy]] in [[2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election|2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-04-08 |title=There is no point in searching for a safe seat: Nara Lokesh |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/andhra-pradesh/there-is-no-point-in-searching-for-a-safe-seat-lokesh/articleshow/68768852.cms |access-date=2023-07-26 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Andhra Assembly polls: TDP's Nara Lokesh loses to YSR Congress's Ramakrishna Reddy |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/lok-sabha-2019/story/andhra-assembly-polls-tdp-nara-lokesh-loses-to-ysrcp-ramakrishna-reddy-1533306-2019-05-23 |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref>
Both he and his father, [[Telugu Desam Party|TDP]] chief, [[N. Chandrababu Naidu|Chandrababu Naidu]] suffered a major political setback in the [[2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election|2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Elections]] by winning only 23 seats out of the total 175 seats.<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/elections/assembly-elections/andhra-pradesh-assembly-election-result-live/articleshow/69453786.cms}}</ref> This was TDP's worst defeat ever in the history.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-23 |title=N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP staring at worst defeat in Andhra assembly |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/lok-sabha-elections/lok-sabha-election-results-2019-n-chandrababu-naidu-s-tdp-staring-at-worst-defeat-in-andhra/story-0bcits0NYlHLmPXdfYXdeK.html |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-27 |title=Andhra Pradesh election results 2019: Is it end of the road for Chandrababu Naidu? |url=https://www.cnbctv18.com/politics/andhra-pradesh-election-results-2019-is-it-end-of-the-road-for-chandrababu-naidu-3482331.htm |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=cnbctv18.com |language=en}}</ref>
Lokesh undertook a 3,100km padayatra touring over 97 assembly constituencies over a span of 226 days, concluding it in Visakhapatnam.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-12-18 |title=TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh concludes Yuvagalam padayatra |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/tdp-general-secretary-nara-lokesh-concludes-yuvagalam-padayatra/articleshow/106099589.cms |access-date=2023-12-18 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>
