Did Lokesh forget NTR’s hat-trick in his speech?

Film celebrities are often known for their habit of saying flattering things about whatever place they visit a bit like the saying, “Sing the song of the place where you eat your bread.” Whenever their film events happen in a town, they heap exaggerated praises about that place and talk about their “deep emotional connection” to it. Even politicians don’t usually go that far.

However, Minister Nara Lokesh seems to have gone a step beyond the film stars this time. He declared, “We will be indebted to the soil of Anantapur for life.” But the reason he gave for that statement sounded rather amusing he said it’s because his father-in-law, Nandamuri Balakrishna, was elected three consecutive times from that region.

This statement has raised some eyebrows. People are wondering is Lokesh sidelining his grandfather, the late N.T. Rama Rao (NTR)? Of course, it’s understandable that Lokesh feels proud and emotional that his father-in-law won three times in a row. But if he truly wanted to express gratitude to Anantapur or the Hindupur constituency, he could have done it in a much more meaningful way. After all, since the formation of the Telugu Desam Party in 1983, Hindupur has never lost a single election to another party. Not only did Balakrishna win three times consecutively, but NTR himself also won three times in a row from the same place. Since the party’s inception, Telugu Desam has won that seat 11 times consecutively an unbroken record.

So, if Lokesh wanted to recall his family’s political bond with the region, he should have mentioned his grandfather NTR’s hat-trick and uncle Nandamuri Harikrishna’s victory before talking about Balakrishna’s hat-trick. Given the way Lokesh said, “We’ll be indebted to Anantapur for electing Balayya three times,” many are now wondering if he’s unintentionally pushing NTR’s legacy aside. Some critics are also mocking Lokesh’s grand statement. They argue that inaugurating a bronze statue of Bhakta Kanakadasa doesn’t warrant such a dramatic declaration of “lifelong debt.” They say, instead of just making emotional statements, if Lokesh and his party could actually develop drought-prone, migration-hit Anantapur district to the same level as Visakhapatnam or Amaravati, then such words of gratitude would truly carry meaning.