'Bhai Lokesh' emerging as new TDP face at national level

Previously, Naidu dismissed calls to appoint Lokesh as Deputy CM, concerned that such a move might jeopardize political equations with Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, who currently holds that position.

Hyderabad: While Andhra Pradesh's IT Minister Nara Lokesh may not be officially announced as the working president of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a quiet leadership transition appears to be taking place within the party from Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to his son.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's frequent references to "Bhai Lokesh" during his speech at the International Yoga Day celebrations in Visakhapatnam on Saturday have reconfirmed that the state IT minister has emerged as the face of TDP at the national level.

Recently, Lokesh and his family met with Prime Minister Modi for more than two hours. Last week in Delhi, Lokesh held meetings with several Union ministers to discuss broader state issues beyond his specific ministerial portfolios. Lokesh holds IT & Education portfolios in Naidu's cabinet in the state.

He also had a one-on-one meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss various state matters, further cementing his role as the party's key liaison with the central government.

"Today I am happy that we all are in Visakhapatnam. This city is a confluence of both nature and progress. The people here have organised this event so well. I congratulate Chandrababu Naidu Garu and Pawan Kalyan Garu—under your leadership, Andhra Pradesh took a great initiative with the YogAndhra Abhiyan. I would also like to specially praise the efforts of Nara Lokesh Garu. He has shown how social celebration of yoga should be conducted and how every section of society should be connected through the YogAndhra campaign over the last one and a half months. For this, brother Lokesh deserves many congratulations. I would also like to tell my countrymen that the work done by Lokesh brother should be seen as an example of how such opportunities can be taken deeply to the grassroots level," said Modi amidst thunderous applause from onlookers at the International Yoga Day celebrations in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

Within the TDP, there has been growing clamour among party cadres for Nara Lokesh's elevation within the party hierarchy. Young leaders in the party are particularly vocal in demanding that Lokesh be made working president of the TDP. Everyone expected that he would be appointed working president at the party's annual plenary Mahanadu held in May in Kadapa. However, to their disappointment, Naidu made no such announcement.

"Last week, when he was in Delhi, he (Lokesh) met the Union Home Minister, Sports Minister, and Law Minister to discuss larger issues beyond his specific ministries in the broader interest of the state. He had a detailed and lengthy one-on-one meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on state issues. Everyone knows how important Amit Shah is at the Centre and within the BJP. His father, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, has been encouraging Lokesh to take up important party tasks and is giving him larger responsibilities," a senior TDP functionary told DH.

Currently serving as general secretary of TDP and IT minister in his father's cabinet, Lokesh's political trajectory has been closely watched. Previously, Naidu dismissed calls to appoint Lokesh as Deputy Chief Minister, concerned that such a move might jeopardize political equations with Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, who currently holds that position.