Lokesh Promotion Backfires; Netizens Question Missing Babu–Pawan Data!

On the official Facebook page of the Telugu Desam Party, for the past few days, there has been an effort to elevate Minister Nara Lokesh, the son of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, more than the Chief Minister himself. Their promotions sometimes appear as though it is Minister Nara Lokesh, not CM Chandrababu, who is working hard for the state. From attracting investments to several other matters, they are promoting Lokesh much more than Chandrababu on this page. Since he is considered a future leader, they are giving him greater elevation from now itself. However, it is okay only up to a point — when it becomes excessive, it starts backfiring. Over the past few days, posts have widely appeared on social media alleging that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, and Minister Nara Lokesh have been using special flights and helicopters frequently, spending a large amount of public money. Sakshi media also carried reports on this.

However, these posts lack clarity in terms of the numbers. But the official social media page of the TDP released details of the expenses incurred during former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tenure. They stated that the total amount was 222 crore rupees — of which 87 crore rupees were spent on helicopters, and flights and other expenses amounted to 135 crore rupees. The post also claimed that after the coalition came to power, during these 18 months, Minister Nara Lokesh did not take a single rupee from the government for the helicopters or special flights used for his tours. If he didn’t take anything from the government, the obvious question arises — who paid these bills? Discussions are now surfacing on whether MPs belonging to his own party or someone else bore the expenses for Lokesh’s travels.

Let’s assume the figures presented for Jagan’s tenure are official. But here, along with the Chief Minister Chandrababu and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, the expenses related to Nara Lokesh should also be shown. Instead, they selectively presented the numbers of former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and very conveniently hid the figures related to Chandrababu and Pawan Kalyan. All this clearly shows that the attempt is only to elevate Nara Lokesh to some Chief Minister-level stature, nothing else. The official post by the TDP has received a majority of negative comments. People are questioning how the expenses of Jagan’s tenure as Chief Minister can be compared with those of Minister Nara Lokesh. Others are asking why the expenses of Chandrababu and Pawan Kalyan were hidden. Looking at all this, it appears that whatever the TDP tried to do has ended up becoming something else entirely. Even TDP leaders are shocked by these comments. They say that if anyone spreads false propaganda, it should be countered properly, but they don’t understand why, by hiding the expenses of the CM and Deputy CM, they are inviting criticism from the public.