In the whole episode of TDP General Secretary Lokesh Babu’s arrest in Guntur, know who is the happiest? The TDP cadres. Yes. Unbelievable but true. The TDP is happy that finally they have got an issue to fight for. There’s a leader who is not arrested for past deeds like botched up dairies, sold out land deals.

Here was Lokesh, who was arrested for consoling a bereaved family. The girl was brutally murdered by a maniac youth who was spurned by her. This in itself evoked a lot of sympathy. When Lokesh went to console them, why should the YSRCP government arrest him? By arresting him, the YSRCP government lost some sympathy and Lokesh gained a lot of support.

Moreover, the way the police treated Lokesh too has created sympathy for Lokesh. He was held by the collar, dragged away and bundled into the police vehicle. All this has created sympathy for Lokesh. Also, shifting of Lokesh from one police station to another and registering a case very late have also turned out to be beneficial for Lokesh. The spontaneous protests across the state are an indication that the YSRCP has handed a potent weapon to the TDP. Hence the TDP cadres are happy.

Even YSRCP insiders feel that the police were over-enthusiastic and that there was no need to arrest Lokesh. By arresting Lokesh, many feel that the YSRCP scored a self-goal. This has given the TDP cadres, who were low on morale and down in the dumps all these days, a powerful stick to beat the YSRCP.