Andhra CM’s son Lokesh may contest from Mangalagiri

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s son and Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh may contest the Assembly election from Mangalagiri constituency in this capital region.

Naidu, who is also the president of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), is understood to have taken the decision on Wednesday.

An official announcement is likely to be made on Thursday when the TDP will release its first list of candidates.

Lokesh, now a member of the Legislative Council, will be making his debut in a direct election.

Naidu considered various constituencies including Kuppam, which he currently represents in his Chittoor district, before zeroeing in on Mangalgiri as Lokesh’s election from here is expected to facilitate speedy development of the state capital.

Lokesh, who became active in TDP in 2013, had worked on the party strategy for the 2014 elections but did not contest the polls.

Currently, he is the TDP General Secretary and considered the second-in-command.

Being groomed by Naidu as his successor, Lokesh was elected to the Legislative Council in 2017 and then inducted into the cabinet.

In 2014, A. Ramakrishna Reddy of YSR Congress Party was elected from Mangalagiri. He defeated Ganji Chiranjeevi of TDP by just 12 votes.

[source_without_link]IANS[/source_without_link]