Nara Lokesh

Nara Lokesh (born 16 January 1983) is an Indian politician. He is the son of former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu and Nara Bhuvaneshwari, and grandson of N. T. Rama Rao.[3]

Nara Lokesh
Member of Legislative Council
Assumed office
2 April 2017
Personal details
Born (1983-01-23) 23 January 1983[1]
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana), India
Political partyTelugu Desam Party
Spouse(s)Nara Brahmani
RelationsN. T. Rama Rao (grandfather)
Children1[2]
ParentsNara Chandrababu Naidu (father)
ResidenceAmaravati, Andhra Pradesh, India
Alma materCarnegie Mellon University (BSc)
Stanford Graduate School of Business (MBA)
OccupationBusinessman, politician

Lokesh became cabinet minister for information technology, Panchayati Raj and rural development in Andhra Pradesh in 2017.

Lokesh joined the TDP in May 2013, and worked on the election strategy for the 2014 General Elections.[4][5] He sought election as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the Mangalagiri constituency in the 2019 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections and lost to Alla Ramakrishna Reddy of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). However, he is still a member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council.[6]

Early life and education

Lokesh has an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Bachelor of Science with a specialization in Management Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon University.[7]

Political career

Though he never won a direct election, he held several key positions in both party and state of Andhra Pradesh.

In 2014, he became Party general secretary, a member of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the party. Lokesh managed the party, interacted with party workers and citizens, and helped set the Party policies and strategy.[8]

Lokesh claimed in January 2013 that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party derived the Direct Benefit Transfer System from a TDP proposal submitted to the central government.[9]

Lokesh is credited with successfully managing the TDP party's membership drive that added five million members. The digital technology used by the onboarding team – tablets, live data feeds and a real-time dashboard – was probably the first such use for enrolling and managing party members in the country.[10] In 2017, Chandrababu Naidu inducted Lokesh as an MLC and a month later he was appointed the Cabinet minister for IT, Panchayathi Raj and Rural Development.[6]

Development and welfare models

Lokesh has been one of the Trustees of NTR Memorial Trust (popularly known as NTR Trust) on Healthcare, Education, Skills Enhancement and Disaster Management.

Disaster management

Lokesh oversees the disaster response program of the Trust that operates in times of natural calamities.

Each active member of the party will get a personal insurance cover of ₹2 lakh in case of a fatal accident, ₹2 lakh for permanent disability, ₹1 lakh for the partially disabled, and ₹50,000 in case of accidental injuries.[11]

Lokesh-led party online membership drive fetched TDP 53+ lakh members.[12]

Awards and recognition

Lokesh won the "Skoch Person of the Year" award in 2018, for his innovative use of technology while resolving issues related to drinking water supply, transparency in governance, and other activities under his Panchayati Raj portfolio.[13]

In May 2018, Lokesh won the Business World magazine "Digital Leader of the Year" at the Businessworld Digital India summit in New Delhi. The award recognises the best utilisation of technology in governance.[14] The same year, the Kalam Centre for Livable Planet Earth and Sustainable Development, recognised Lokesh's efforts in the successful integration of technology in rural governance and awarded the innovation award to Andhra Pradesh in the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development category. Lokesh was also awarded the Kalam Innovation in Governance Award- in 2018.

In September 2018, Lokesh was invited to represent India at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Entrepreneurship Summit and Annual Meeting of World Champions in Tianjin, China.[15] In the following month, Lokesh became the only Indian politician to be nominated to the WEF's Network of Global Future Councils (NGFC), an interdisciplinary knowledge group that deliberates on agile governance in terms of emerging technologies and business models.[16]

2019 Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections

Nara Lokesh unsuccessfully contested from Mangalagiri constituency and lost to Alla Rama Krishna Reddy of YSRCP.

Personal life

In 2007, Lokesh married Brahmani his first cousin on maternal side and daughter of Indian film actor and politician Nandamuri Balakrishna [7][17] The couple has a son Nara Devansh.[18]

References
  1. "Nara Lokesh: Ideological, political heir to NT Rama Rao's legacy". India TV News. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  2. "Nara Lokesh Son Name Devaansh". page3hyd.in. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  3. "Nara Lokesh inducted into AP cabinet: Chandrababu Naidu's son is latest chapter of India's dynastic politics – Firstpost". firstpost.com.
  4. Indian Express TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu's son Nara Lokesh joins politics 28 May 2013 "Andhra Pradesh politics witnessed another son-rise on Monday with Nara Lokesh, son of Telugu Desam Party president Nara Chandrababu Naidu, being formally inducted into the party. He was introduced into the party at TDP's two-day gathering 'Mahanadu' at Gandipet on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Lokesh has been heading "The Cadre Welfare Wing" of the Party from June 2014."
  5. The Hindu: Nara Lokesh hogs the limelight 28 May 2013
  6. Rao, G.V.R Subba (2 April 2017). "Chandrababu Naidu's son Nara Lokesh takes oath as Minister". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  7. Janyala, Sreenivas (16 February 2009). "Their fathers' sons". The Indian Express. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  8. TNN (12 July 2016). "Lokesh emerges as No. 2 in TDP". The Times of India.
  9. Times of AP Rahul stole my idea says Lokesh Nara 1 January 2013
  10. PTI (3 November 2014). "TDP launches membership enrolment drive; to enroll members from neighbouring states". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  11. "TDP launches membership enrolment drive & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". 3 November 2014.
  12. "Nara Lokesh driving TDP government for Papa Chandrababu Naidu & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". 3 January 2015.
  13. "Lokesh wins 'Skoch Person of the Year- Governance' award". The New Indian Express.
  14. ANI (18 May 2018). "Nara Lokesh receives award for 'Digital Leader of the Year'". Business Standard.
  15. ENS (13 September 2018). "Nara Lokesh on 6-day investment hunt, to take part in World Economic Forum meet in China'". The New Indian Express.
  16. WEF (12 November 2018). "Global Future Council on Agile'". World Economic Forum.
  17. "In last-ditch attempt, Naidu inducts daughter-in-law Nara Brahmani into TDP's campaign".
  18. "Chandrababu Naidu's daughter-in-law Nara Brahmani, son ride Hyderabad Metro".
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