Lokesh will become Chief Minister of AP in future, says State Industries Minister

Praising Nara Lokesh as a young and highly educated leader, Bharath said the TDP had a long-term vision and clarity about its future

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh’s Industry Minister T G Bharath on Monday said that IT and Education Minister Nara Lokesh would become Chief Minister of the State in the future.

“Whether someone likes it or not, Lokesh garu is the future. He will become the Chief Minister in future,” Bharath said in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh while addressing the Telugu Diaspora in Zurich.

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Bharath and Lokesh are part of the delegation being headed by Naidu at the World Economic Forum’s annual summit at Davos.

The Industry Minister praised Lokesh as a young and highly educated leader. “There is no one among 175 MLAs and 25 MPs who studied at Stanford,” he said. Bharath said that TDP had a long-term vision and clarity about its future. The Minister’s remark came even as the TDP directed its leaders in Andhra Pradesh not to publicly air their views to elevate Lokesh as the Deputy Chief Minister.

The party leadership issued orders amid growing demand from TDP leaders to promote the TDP general secretary as Deputy Chief Minister.

The TDP told its leaders that any decision will be taken in consultation with leaders of the coalition.

Telugu Desam Party is heading the ruling coalition, which has Jana Sena and BJP as the other two partners. Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan is currently the Deputy Chief Minister.

During his address to the Telugu Diaspora in Zurich, Chief Minister Naidu said that he was fortunate enough to have been born in the Telugu community.
“If there is any rebirth I will be too happy to take birth as a child of Telugu. Wherever I am my heart always yearns for the Telugu community,” observed the Chief Minister.

Maintaining that he always encouraged the youth to join politics, Chandrababu Naidu felt that the development of any nation was possible only with the youth.

The TDP president said that if a politician earns money he or she will command no respect. “As I am into politics my wife looks after business while the Minister for IT and Electronics, Nara Lokesh, is into politics his wife, Brahmani, takes care of the business activities. My intention is that the Telugu community should be in number one position by 2047,” the Chief Minister observed.

Earlier, amid growing demand for a Deputy Chief Minister post to Lokesh, TDP issued a gag order to the leaders to avoid speaking publicly or talking to the media on the issue.

The leaders have been directed to desist from voicing personal opinions. They were told that the leaders of the coalition will discuss and take whatever decision is to be taken.

During a meeting in Mydukur in YSR Kadapa district on January 18, TDP politburo member Srinivas Reddy requested Chief Minister and TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu to promote Lokesh as the Deputy Chief Minister. Subsequently, several leaders supported the demand for Lokesh’s elevation.

Lokesh, son of Chandrababu Naidu, is the Minister for Information Technology, Electronics, and Education. He is also the national general secretary of the party.

Senior leader and former Minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy, former MLA SVSS Varma, Rajahmundry Urban MLA Adireddy Vasu and others publicly demanded that Lokesh should be appointed the Deputy Chief Minister.

The demand to promote Lokesh as Deputy Chief Minister assumes significance in view of the feeling among a section of TDP leaders that Jana Sena leader and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan was trying to project himself as the second most prominent person in the government after Chief Minister Naidu.

A section of TDP leaders were also reported to be unhappy over some of the actions and outbursts of Pawan Kalyan. They are keen to see Lokesh as Deputy Chief Minister to counterbalance the growing influence of the actor-politician.

The TDP leadership intervened to ask the leaders not to speak publicly on the issue to avoid giving the impression that all was not well within the ruling coalition. Lokesh’s supporters within TDP hope that Chandrababu Naidu will decide to elevate him after a discussion with the leaders of BJP and Jana Sena. IANS