It has been nearly two weeks since Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was jailed in connection with the alleged skill development scam case. His son, TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh, has been in Delhi for about a week now, giving interviews to national media outlets and meeting leaders of various political leaders to mobilise support for his father. But the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has made it amply clear that the state law enforcement authorities intend to arrest him. The party made an open threat to Lokesh on social media on September 20, indicating that he can only delay his arrest by staying back in Delhi but cannot evade it.
Read: Andhra Pradesh Fibernet scam: CID issues new warrant against former CM Chandrababu Naidu
Rumours have been rife that even as the TDP is trying to get Naidu out of jail, Lokesh himself may be arrested by the CID in the alleged AP Fibernet Scam. The allegation is that officials of the e-Governance Authority governing council under the previous TDP government colluded with Tera Software Limited, to ensure that a tender for Rs 321 crore was illegally awarded to the company. The company lacked the necessary qualifications for the award of the tender, the CID had said in its FIR registered in 2021.
In an open threat to Lokesh, YSRCP said on September 20 that no matter how long a ‘rat’ hides in a hole, it has to come out some day and get eaten by the ‘cat’. “Nara Lokesh cannot keep hiding in Delhi for days together in the name of garnering the support of national parties, the law won’t allow it. Even if the wrongdoers are in outer space, the law will take its course. It might get a little delayed, but people cannot pull off scams and now try to gain sympathy. Such people cannot escape punishment,” the party’s official account posted.
Senior TDP leaders told TNM that a team of policemen have been tracking Lokesh for the past couple of days, with the intention of arresting him. “There are three Inspectors, five Sub-inspectors and two Deputy Superintendents of Police going after him from the last two days. This is what we have learnt. Apparently, a team is in Delhi to keep watch on him and then take him into custody. We don’t know what will happen if he comes back [to Andhra Pradesh],” a senior TDP leader said.
Meanwhile, a YSRCP functionary dismissed the TDP’s claim that there are police personnel tracking Lokesh. “As of now, there is no information that he will be arrested,” he told TNM.
A senior TDP leader said that Naidu and Lokesh being away hasn’t made a big difference to the morale of the party cadre yet, as it has only been a short period. He said the party was hopeful that Naidu will be released from jail soon. However, if both Naidu and Lokesh were to remain absent for a long duration, the speed of decision-making within the party could be affected, he conceded.
He added that the TDP has divided Andhra Pradesh into five zones, each headed by one senior leader to monitor the party’s general functioning. Ruling out any immediate danger of a leadership crisis, the TDP leader said, “Even if you leave out the party’s polit bureau, we have a huge state body and a programming committee which is headed by senior leaders with decades of experience. The party is not going to fall like a house of cards. If [Naidu and Lokesh] are in jail for over three months, then party activities might take a hit,” he said.
Notably, Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP) recently announced that it would contest the upcoming 2024 Assembly election in an alliance with TDP. The actor-politician made the announcement days after Naidu’s arrest, after meeting him in jail. Flanked by Lokesh on one side, and TDP MLA and Naidu's brother-in-law Nandamuri Balakrishna on the other, Pawan Kalyan announced the alliance and said, “If the state must get rid of YSRCP’s anarchic rule in 2024, I want TDP, Jana Sena and BJP to work together.” Jana Sena is already in an alliance with the BJP in the state and Pawan Kalyan said he would urge the BJP leadership to accept the tri-party alliance.
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