Giant Killer Nara Lokesh to become first-time MLA, defeats YSRCP Lavanya with wide majority

Mangalagiri: Nara Lokesh has skyrocketed as a giant killer by securing the highest majority in the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly elections.

Nara Lokesh won with a majority of 91,413 votes in the Mangalagiri constituency, defeating YSRCP’s Murgudu Lavanya. Lokesh, who is the son of TDP chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu, will be a first-time MLA.

With a total vote count of 1,67,710 votes, his aspiration to be among the top three candidates in securing majority votes in Andhra Pradesh has come true.

Earlier, in a conversation with NewsMeter, when asked about his strategy to win Mangalagiri, he said, “See Mangalagiri is a very tough seat for the Telugu Desam Party, right? If you look at the electoral history, TDP only won twice, in 1982 and 1985. After that, we have never won that seat. So, I have chosen a seat that’s very tough for the party. I believe I have turned it around to make it a stronghold for the TDP in the last four years and 11 months. I sweated it out definitely after my loss.”

“The first day, post my defeat in 2019, it hurt me, but then all that I converted into my passion for serving people and winning their hearts. So, I didn’t leave the constraints. I continued to work. I continued to be available to people even during the Covid pandemic. I think we are running a parallel government in Mangalagiri. I have introduced schemes through my own financial strength, we run a skill development centre for women, constructed cement benches for students, distributed tailoring machines and provided drinking water facilities. We run three health clinics where we not only provide healthcare but also give medication free of cost. The weavers have started a Weaver Salah where I brought the latest maggam work equipment. I have done 29 more such programs. I have gone back to tell them that I have done all this being in the Opposition. Imagine when we are in power what all we can do,” he had said.

Nara Lokesh admitted to having made a mistake in 2019 when he visited Mangalagiri in the last 21 days, but after his defeat, he worked on the ground for four years and 11 months. '

“If you look at my entire campaign, I finished 46 rachabandas. I have not done roadshows. I visit wards and villages, sitting down with the villagers in a very casual and approachable setting,” he said.

Lokesh and his ‘Red Book’ will now get to work

Over the last five years, Jagan’s government has foisted so many false cases against me, our leader and so many other karyakartas. So, the Red Book is a book where I maintain all the names of officials who have broken the law and who have foisted false cases against leaders, cadre and even the public who have been harassed. We are not going to let them go, he had said.

‘Won’t leave erring government officers, will launch judicial enquiry’

In conversation with NewsMeter, he explained that the Red Book will not let him forget names.

“Because tomorrow we are going to have a judicial enquiry on this and we will ensure that the officers who have exploited the law will be tried to the extent the law permits. We are not going to let them go scot-free. If you look at Andhra Pradesh, all the institutions have been destroyed systematically. As many as 23 false cases have been foisted against me. I have an SC/ST case against me. I have an attempted murder case against me. Mr Naidu today has 23 cases against him, all false. He has been sent to judicial remand for 53 days. First, they said it was a Rs 3,000 crore scam, then a Rs 270 crore scam. Now they say it is Rs 27 crores. Sounds quite ridiculous,” said Lokesh.