TDP will come to power in 2024; Yuva Galam padayatra has helped in understanding, prioritising issues people face, Lokesh tells South First.
Nara Lokesh during his Yuva Galam padayatra. (Supplied)
The 40-year-old, Stanford-educated TDP scion and party general secretary Nara Lokesh is soldiering on with his padayatra, his sights fixed on the 2024 elections to the Lok Sabha and the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
The yatra, Yuva Galam, or Voice of Youth, which he launched from his family’s pocket borough of Kuppam on 27 January, has so far covered over 2,600 km across Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra.
South First caught up with him as the yatra entered the key Godavari delta, and travelled with Lokesh from Valasapalli in Nuziveedu of Krishna district as he entered Chintalapudi of Eluru district.
In an exclusive freewheeling conversation covering several topics, Lokesh dismissed YSRCP supremo and Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s “Why not 175” remark as a result of mere hallucination.
The TDP scion also said he would not take up the top post of chief minister, if the TDP wins the polls.
Speaking on the takeaway from the yatra, he said people are running out of patience, and are ready to rebel against the YSRCP government. The Yuva Galam has transformed him, he said,
Lokesh said the party’s doors are closed for the deserters but strongly supported the idea of joining forces to bring down the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. Edited excerpts:
Q. How has the response been to your padayatra? Are you satisfied?
A. People and party cadres are coming in hordes to bless me. There is a lot of frustration among the people. They are looking for a outlet to vent their frustration. They are ready to rebel against the government and they are looking for a platform. Yuva Galam is providing them the platform they have been seeking.
Q. What are your major observations during the yatra?
A. Every community, every profession is suffering from this government’s bad administration. I met all sections of people. I haven’t met even one single group that is satisfied with this government. Whatever they are — doctors, shopkeepers, or small quarry owners — all are dissatisfied. Housewives are dissatisfied. Even caste groups are unhappy with the government’s delivery mechanism.
Those speaking out against the government are being harassed. False cases are being foisted against them, and quite a few of them have been sent to jail. A false case of attempted murder has been charged against me. Anyone who opposes the government is being harassed. People are angry.
Q. Your speeches have been aggressive. Will TDP indulge in vendetta politics if it returns to power? You are reportedly carrying a red book, noting names against whom action should be taken.
Nara Lokesh says people are ready to rebel against the YSRCP government. (Supplied)
A. The officials are responsible for upholding the Indian Constitution. But they are acting contrary to the Constitution and are foisting false cases. There should be a judicial inquiry. Otherwise where is an end to this trend? Where is the end if a person who speaks against the government is booked under false charges and thrown behind bars? We need to put a stop to this behaviour.
Right now in Andhra, Rajareddy Rajyamgam (Constitution) is being implemented. Rajareddy is the grandfather of the current chief minister. He was a notorious man. In an attempt to control the entire mining activities in his village, he killed mine owners. This is the background of the chief minister, and he is forcing officials to mete out the same treatment to opponents.
If the officials can’t safeguard the Indian Constitution they should step side or take voluntary retirement or get posted elsewhere. They cannot say that they are under pressure to implement the orders. It doesn’t work that way. There is definitely a red book and yes, there are names — no second thought about it. Can you imagine that the leader of Opposition is not allowed to visit his constituency? What is going on in the state and with the government? What is the SP, the DSP doing? How can they do so? Definitely, we will take firm action against such officials.
Q. The ruling party is holding the TDP responsible for the recent violence in Rayalaseema and elsewhere in the state. The ruling party is accusing you and your father (Chandrababu Naidu) of instigating violence through provocative speeches.
Lokesh said TDP workers were jailed on fake charges. (Supplied)
A. Thousands of our cadres have been jailed based on fake cases. Several of our cadres have been killed. They (YSRCP men) attacked our party office. The present minister in the Cabinet — I call him Joker Jogi — he attacked the residence of the Opposition leader. When I fought against the government, I was attacked. We are not raising any slogans against Jagan. We never raised slogans that would belittle the office of the chief minister.
I am using my constitutional right. Even our patience has run out. When you come and hit us, do you expect us to take it lying down? The time has come. You know they have attacked me, they have attacked our leaders and sent us to jail. Do they think they can pelt stones at our leaders and get away with it? Absolutely not.
I am asking a straight question: Is Chandrababu Naidu Garu known for instigating violence? Has he done anything that created a law and order problem in the past? He had been a chief minister for 14 years. Jagan Mohan Reddy went to Kuppam when he was in the Opposition. We never had any problem. Jagan took out a padayatra, and we gave him security. We didn’t instigate our cadres to throw stones or eggs at him.
We are frustrated. If we don’t fight, how is it going to work? Should we run when they try to chase us away? Time has run out for this government.
Q. What is your view about the slogan, ‘Why not 175’ that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has coined? He is targeting Chandrababu Naidu’s Kuppam and your Mangalagiri segments.
The TDP will surely form the government in 2024, says N Lokesh. (Supplied)
A. Will he win all seats after increasing the power tariff nine times, and RTC bus fare three times? Will he win seats after imposing the highest taxes on petroleum products? Will he get all the seats for doubling the cooking gas price? Does escalating prices of essential commodities win him the 175 seats? Does creating an overall debt of ₹12 lakh crore for the state help him win all seats? He (Jagan) has a bad habit of talking to “spirits”. One of the “spirits” might have told him at night that he would win 175 seats. He is hallucinating.
Q. How many seats do you expect the TDP to win in 2024?
A. The TDP will form the government in 2024. There is no second opinion about it. But it will be premature on my part to speculate on the number of seats because we are eight-and-a-half months away from the polls. I don’t want to speculate at this juncture.
Q. The TDP and Jana Sena are looking for an alliance? What is your comment?
A. Leaders of both parties are clear that the current chief minister has not only destroyed the state but has also taken the state back by 30 years. It is a general feeling. You talk to anyone on the road, they are also expressing the same feeling. This is the right time for all those who believe that this administration should go to come together and fight against the chief minister.
Q. All those who have taken out padayatras, barring one, have become chief ministers. Are you also aspiring to become the chief minister after the 2024 polls?
N Lokesh says the response to the padayatra has been overwhelming. (Supplied)
A. I have an MBA from Stanford. I did my MBA to run our family business. I believe this padayatra has given me an understanding of people’s problems. Tomorrow, I will be able to advise our leader and the next chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu Garu about numerous issues and areas that I believe that the TDP government should focus on.
Come 2024, 2029, and so forth, till he has the energy, he will be our chief minister candidate. If his health permits in 2039, he will still be the TDP’s CM candidate because he has amazing experience and we need someone of his calibre and leadership to pull the state out of the trouble and the rut in which it has landed.
Q. Is Yuva Galam a re-launch of Lokesh in a new avatar: A rugged mass leader rather than the soft boy?
A. If you look at my past, I have always been a radical. Yes, I am Western-educated and have always believed that public life and the public need high-quality leadership. Having said so, circumstances in Andhra Pradesh have unfortunately changed under this government and I am forced to take up this challenge. The padayatra has transformed me and my thought process. I am a different person now than I was at the start of the yatra. I now understand the people’s problems better and what should be the priorities of the TDP government.
Q. The YSRCP seems to be confident of decimating the TDP at the polls.
A. Even his father (YS Rajasekhara Reddy) nurtured this dream. In all fairness and due respect to Rajasekhara Reddy Garu, he also said that the TDP would not exist. Everyone dreams of it. The TDP is a cadre-based party. We take issues related to the cadres seriously. Despite having busy schedules, we meet our cadres and try to understand their issues, including their personal issues. Ours is the only political party that has accidental insurance for the cadres and we have paid close to ₹110 crore.
Ours is a cadre-based party, unlike the YSRCP, which is a leader-based organisation. Leaders come and go. We nurture leaders and it is the TDP’s strength. Let Jagan keep on dreaming as much as he wants. The TDP is not going anywhere. We are here to stay and continue to fight.
Q. There is an exodus of leaders from the TDP to YSRCP. Will you welcome them if they prefer to return to the party?
Creating 20 lakh jobs will rejuvenate the state’s economy, feels N Lokesh. Youngsters perch on a tree to have a better view of the TDP scion. (Supplied)
A. One, there is no exodus. Two, these people left us in the first year of the TDP losing the election. I have thanked them several times for leaving because we were able to build a young and strong leadership. So there is no vacuum and, definitely, they are not welcome. This is not the first time that some people have left us. But please understand that a lot of YSRCP MLAs are unhappy with the government. Some of them have already joined the TDP. It is an indication of the state of affairs in the YSRCP.
Q. Will there be a leadership vacuum in the YSRCP?
A. We are open to the idea of taking in YSRCP leaders. However, it will be only around two to five percent of them. The majority of leaders will be from the TDP.
Q. You are accusing the government of pushing the state into a debt trap to fund its welfare agenda with political intentions. On the other hand, you are also promising such welfare schemes which would also place a fiscal burden on the state. How do you justify it?
A. There is one component in Bhavishyathu Ki Bharosa, which talks about creating 20 lakh jobs. It will kickstart our entire economy. We are going to create a massive number of jobs in the private sector, government, and through self-employment. The unemployment rate is high in Andhra Pradesh. No company is investing in the state. Some are even leaving us.
Amara Raja left us, Franklin Templeton left us. All electronic companies that I brought in personally have left. We need to recreate the entire ecosystem and by creating 20 lakh jobs we can rejuvenate the entire economy and increase the state’s revenue. For us, development and welfare are two wheels of the same vehicle. The rear wheel of development will propel the welfare of the people. We will balance both.
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