By Ramesh Kandula
Young Nara Lokesh has undertaken a gruelling 4,000 km padayatra, starting from tomorrow. This is going to be a do-or-die battle for his political career. No wonder, observers are watching keenly whether he will be able to make an impact on the state’s electorate.
The padayatra is aimed at not only bolstering the electoral prospects of the TDP, but also at transforming Lokesh as a viable political leader of his own making. Titled ‘Yuvagalam’ (youth’s voice), the padyatra will cover 120 Assembly constituencies over the next 400 days across the state.
Lokesh has had more challeges in his short political life than probably any of his contemporaries. Some of the difficulties he had faced are likely due to his higher eduacation that did not prepare him for the rough and tumble of politics.
Lokesh has an impressive list of academic credentials with a BSc from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from Stanford. He was the executive director of Heritage Foods Limited for some time, before plunging into poltics full time. He also had worked in various projects with the World Bank in Washington DC, including e-capacity building for the governments of Ethiopia, Sudan and Liberia.
He took interest in politics around 2009 and became the party general secretary in 2014 when he was 32 years of age. With TDP coming to power, he became the target of the opposition YSRCP. Initially, Lokesh looked uncomfortable in his new role in politics and his halting Telugu and awkward expressions did not make things any better. He was ridiculed and caricatured by rivals and admitteldy some of it actually stuck.
However, he proved to be an able and efficient administrator as the Minister for Panchayat Raj (Rural Development) and Information Technology, two portfolios he held between 2017-2019. He made an imprint on both the rural development and the IT sectors by coming across as a proactive minister.
However, the decision to enter the legislature as MLC through indirect election, instead of getting elected as MLA through a direct election caused some erosion to his political base. His lack of exposure to polling booths became his Achilles Heel, with political rivals treating him as a political lightweight.
His decision now to undertake the padayatra across the state is a belated attempt to prove his mettle. In recent months, even as the Jagan government has resorted to oppessive measures, Lokesh has raised his voice and talked tough. The YSRCP government’s attempts to frame him in some scam or the other for his role as minister also failed. By daring the ruling party to prove its charges, Lokesh has improved his image.
The Jagan regime has put stringent conditions to create hurdles at every stage to Lokesh’s padayatra. Beside using the police to stifle the yatra, the ruling party is expected to scuttle the march by inciting disturbances through its cadre. In this backdrop, it is going to be a herculean task for TDP and Lokesh to ensure the smooth passage of the yatra.
This arduous undertaking is an opportunity for Lokesh to show to the world that he has what it takes to make it politics. And that he can sustain and lead the TDP in the near future, which is going to be no mean task.
