Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Thursday said that he will contest the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, adding that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) would decide the seat, ToI reported.
Lokesh was speaking to reporters, days after his father and Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that the TDP was already deciding its candidates for the polls. Lokesh also said that the names for almost 100 candidates set to contest for the 175-seat Legislative Assembly had been finalised.
In February last year, Lokesh was inducted into the state cabinet after the TDP politburo recommended his nomination to the state legislative council. The businessman-politician had said that he was ready to discharge any responsibility given by the party.
In March, Lokesh, who is also the TDP National Secretary, took oath as Member of the Legislative Council. Lokesh was elected unopposed as an MLC under the MLAs quota on March 10 alongside four others from the ruling TDP.
Lokesh who has been part of the TDP fold since the 2009 elections, officially joined the party in 2013. Starting off as the President of the TDP's youth wing, he quickly rose through the ranks to reach the post of Coordinator, cadre welfare fund.
In September 2015, Naidu promoted his son, making him an ex-officio member of the politburo and the general secretary of the party's central committee.
However, opposition parties in the state have often criticised the process that was followed, asking if Lokesh could have won a ticket, if he contested an election.
In what seems an attempt to prove the opposition leaders wrong, the TDP has decided to field Lokesh in the upcoming polls. While there was speculation as to which seat Lokesh would contest from, he has denied that it would be Kuppam constituency, a seat which his father has been holding continuously since 1989.