Keep alliance intact to prevent YSRCP comeback: Lokesh

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national working president Nara Lokesh on Wednesday stressed the need for the TDP, BJP and Jana Sena Party (JSP) to keep their alliance intact for years to come to prevent the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) from returning to power.

Stating that the coalition partners should adhere to the “alliance dharma” in the larger interest of the people, Mr. Lokesh said he would take care of internal issues and expressed confidence that the three parties would continue to move forward together.

Addressing a meeting of TDP workers at Mopidevi in Krishna district, Mr. Lokesh said the coalition partners should effectively counter the YSRCP’s “false propaganda” and expose how the previous government had brought disrepute to the State.

Referring to Krishna district, he said it had produced many eminent personalities but had also seen Ministers in the previous regime who used abusive language against political opponents and harassed party workers. Recalling personal attacks on his family, Mr. Lokesh said one former Minister had insulted his mother, N. Bhuvaneswari. “That was when I started writing names in the ‘Red Book’. There is no need for any doubts. It will do its job,” he remarked.

Describing Krishna district as the birthplace of TDP founder N. T. Rama Rao and a traditional stronghold of the party, Mr. Lokesh said the TDP had won repeatedly in the Avanigadda constituency and that the TDP-BJP-JSP alliance had secured victory in the 2024 elections through collective efforts.

He urged party cadres to strengthen the organisation to meet future challenges and ensure that the sacrifices made by party leaders over the last 45 years did not go in vain. He also recalled that the YSRCP government had allegedly tried to intimidate him by filing 23 criminal cases against him.

Mr. Lokesh cautioned party workers against complacency while the party was in power, saying any slackness at the grassroots level could provide an opportunity for the YSRCP to stage a comeback. He asked cadres to take the coalition government’s achievements to the people and highlight how it had sought to balance welfare and development during its first two years in office while working towards fulfilling its promises in the remaining term.

He said the proposed door-to-door campaign to publicise the government’s achievements, originally scheduled to begin on June 25, had been postponed to July 10 in view of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Once the campaign begins, party leaders and workers should explain to voters why they should continue to support the TDP and its alliance partners, he added.