Hyderabad: The budget speech by Andhra Pradesh finance minister Payyavula Keshav on Friday turned into a family spotlight moment. The speech was peppered with praise for Nara Lokesh—son of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu—crediting him for everything, from luring big businesses to revamping schools, AI in schools, to delivery of government services through WhatsApp.
The opposition YSRCP called it a “praise parade” for the Naidu dynasty instead of a plan for the people.
Political observers said the commendation aligns with a growing trend within the TDP to position Lokesh as the party’s undisputed successor. “This wasn’t a budget speech; it was a coronation speech,” said one political observer.
Things got hot on the political front in January this year when TDP leaders pushed for Lokesh as deputy CM—a move that ruffled ally Janasena’s feathers, whose chief Pawan Kalyan, already holds that title. The ensuing political drama forced Naidu and Kalyan to step in and calm tensions.
Friday’s budget speech had its share of praise for CM Naidu too. Keshav mentioned the CM’s legacy projects such as Vision 2020 for Andhra Pradesh, financial reforms in the 1990s, and pioneering drip irrigation technology from Israel. He called him a “visionary” and said, “What Chandrababu Naidu thinks today, the nation thinks tomorrow.”
Amid thumping of desks from the treasury benches, Keshav said, “YSRCP left the state in a mess, but Naidu is fixing it.”
But the star of the speech was clearly Lokesh, the TDP general secretary and minister of HRD, IT Human Resources Development; IT Electronics & Communication; and Real Time Governance.
The FM mentioned him repeatedly, linking him to Rs 31,805 crore for schools, Rs 6.3 lakh crore in corporate commitments (including from a global steel major), and partnerships with Google and Meta. WhatsApp now offers 159 government services—thanks to Lokesh’s ‘Real-Time Governance’ push, he said.
Even when he was dwelling on Industries and Commerce, a portfolio held by another minister TG Bharath, Keshav mentioned Lokesh’s contribution. In January, when the Lokesh versus Pawan Kalyan row was playing out, Bharath had declared that “whether some people like it or not, (our) future is Lokesh garu. He is also the future CM”.
Dwelling upon school education in the state, Keshav, in his hour-long budget speech, his second, alleged that the previous regime’s misguided policies and misrule resulted in 2.43 lakh students dropping out of schools in AP. “Lokesh is now overhauling the education system. I am glad to announce that our government has decided to provide free electricity for all government schools on the strong advocacy of the Minister,” Keshav announced. The School Education department, headed by Lokesh, got the highest allocation of Rs 31,805 crore, while higher education got Rs 2,506 crore.
Meanwhile, Kalyan got a lone shout out for rural road projects, prompting analysts to say, “This budget is a love letter to Lokesh. TDP leaders are scrambling to stay on his good side.”
Political analyst Vasireddi Srinivas remarked, “The budget speech, an unusual platform for such praise, underscores Lokesh’s growing influence. TDP leaders are competing to align with him.”
“While a budget speech is not the place for this, the FM even credited Lokesh for unrelated sectors like investment attraction. This shows how badly TDP leaders are vying to be in his good books,” Srinivas said.
Opposition leader Botsa Satyanarayana condemned the budget as “self-congratulatory”.
“The speech blamed YSRCP for every problem but offered little beyond hollow praise for Naidu and Lokesh. This undermines legislative decorum. I have never seen a budget so obsessed with two names. Where’s the actual plan?” he asked.
(Edited by Sudha V)
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