Arc of Nara Lokesh’s comeback: From poll debacle to record win and TDP centre stage

Written off after he lost the Mangalagiri constituency amid his Telugu Desam Party (TDP)’s drubbing in the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections by the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), Nara Lokesh has not only made a turnaround by winning the same seat in the recent Assembly polls by over 91,000 votes – the highest margin in the state – but has also emerged as the voice of his party in the state.

In the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP, led by N Chandrababu Naidu, father of Nara Lokesh, swept the polls, storming back to power in the state.

Fighting these polls in alliance with the BJP and the Pawan Kalyan-led JanaSena Party (JSP), the TDP also bagged 16 Lok Sabha seats to emerge as the second-largest constituent of the ruling BJP-led NDA.

With Naidu emerging as a key player on the national stage besides returning to the helm of the TDP-led government in Andhra Pradesh, Lokesh, 41, is expected to set the tone for the coalition regime in the state.

“We are looking forward to running a government that can work with humility and deliver on its promises. The party will affirm its welfare agenda and create 20 lakh jobs in the next five years,” Lokesh told The Indian Express.

His close aides attribute Lokesh’s comeback to his resilience and his ability to learn from the worst situations. “My padayatra changed me fundamentally as a person and made me humbler and grounded, and eager to help people,” Lokesh said.

His associates say Lokesh describes his over 3,000-km padyatra “Yuva Galam” – which he undertook from Kuppam to Srikakulam during January-December last year – as “a learning and a Stanford moment”.

The TDP general secretary, Lokesh is an MBA from Stanford University and