Nara Lokesh (born 23 January 1983) is an Indian politician. He is the son of former
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's '' de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...
and
Telugu Desam Party
The Telugu Desam Party (; TDP) is an Indian regional political party operating in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at the state and central level. Since its founding by N. T. Rama Rao (often referred to as NTR) on 29 March 1982, the party has foc ...
(TDP) chief
N. Chandrababu Naidu and Nara Bhuvaneshwari, and grandson of
N. T. Rama Rao
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as List of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh fo ...
.
Lokesh became cabinet minister for information technology,
Panchayati Raj
The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...
and
rural development
Rural development is the process of improving the quality life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas.
Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of l ...
in Andhra Pradesh state in 2017.
Lokesh joined the TDP in May 2013, and worked on the election strategy for the
2014 General Elections. He sought election as a
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
(MLA) for the
Mangalagiri constituency in the
2019 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections and lost to Alla Ramakrishna Reddy of the
YSR Congress Party
The Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP or YCP; ) is an Indian regional political party based in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Its president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy serves as the state's chief minister. It is currently the fifth lar ...
(YSRCP) by a less margin. However, he is still a member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council.
Early life and education
Lokesh has an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Bachelor of Science with a specialization in Management Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon University.
Political career
Though he never won a direct election, Lokesh held several key positions in both party and state of Andhra Pradesh.
In 2014, Lokesh became TDP's General Secretary, a member of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the party. He managed the party, interacted with party workers and citizens, and helped set the party policies and strategy.
He claimed in January 2013 that
Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian Parliament, representing the constituency of Wayanad, Kerala in the 17th Lok Sabha. A member of the Indian National Congress, he served as the president o ...
and the
Congress party derived the Direct Benefit Transfer System from a TDP proposal submitted to the central government.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lokesh-led party online membership drive fetched TDP 53+ lakh members.
2019 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections
Lokesh unsuccessfully contested from Mangalagiri constituency and lost to Alla Rama Krishna Reddy of YSRCP.
Governmental offices
, -
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.
In May 2018, he 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.
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. He 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.
In the following month, he 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.
Personal life
In 2007, Lokesh married Brahmani, his first cousin on maternal side and daughter of actor and politician
Nandamuri Balakrishna
Nandamuri Balakrishna (born 10 June 1960), simply known as Balakrishna or Balayya or NBK, is an Indian actor, producer and politician. He appeared in more than 100 Telugu cinema, Telugu films over forty years in a variety of roles and establis ...
.
The couple has a son, Devansh.
References
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lokesh, Nara
1983 births
Living people
Members of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council
Telugu Desam Party politicians
Stanford University alumni
Carnegie Mellon University alumni
Telugu politicians
Andhra Pradesh politicians