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Dhruva Consulting Group
On a sunnybright morning on 9 March 2009,a new dawn approached as Dr Nagabhairava Jayaprakash Narayan, announced his decision to contest for an assembly seat in front of a massive crowd at his rally at Image Garden in Kukatpally Hyderabad, India, the constituency he selected for his political debut. The announcement was greeted with slogans of "Jai Ho, Jayaprakash" and "Jai Lok Satta" that continued to reverberate in the air even after the leader exited the venue. It was the day the followers, comprising of both intellectuals as well as common people, had waited for long.
"I have never in my life sought any office nor run away from any responsibility^' JI? as he is fondly called, told the massive gathering, during the 40-minute long speech amidst frequent applause and cheers."I now," he continued,"humbly bow to the wishes of all of you who, transcending caste and religion, region and language, would like me to represent you in the Assembly!' Further revealing his plan of playing a much bigger role in the Indian politics, JP went on to add, "But Kukatpally is only the starting point; the Lok Satta will change the course of politics in the country not merely in Andhra Pradesh."
The noise was uncharacteristic of rallies in the past by Lok Satta, the political party that JP founded in 2001 in his native state of Andhra Pradesh. While his followers were greatly relieved on hearing the announcement, it took his political rivals by surprise as JP had successfully been running an NGO, also called Lok Satta, which he started after quitting an illustrious career of over a decade and a half as civil servant.
Lok Satta Party will remain "alive, thriving and kicking" long after the elections are over, irrespective of its performance in the short-term, he said in one of his meetings in the run-up to the April 2009 AP state assembly elections. "But the Lok Satta will surprise everybody by producing dramatic results," he promised the gathering during'Meet the Press' program organized by the Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists.
Not many of his opponents though took him seriously terming him a political naïve. Fblitical pundits doubted whether this new kid on Andhra's political block could prove...