Judging by the popular mood, the YSRCP seems set to come back to power in the next assembly elections. This election is said to be the last opportunity for Chandrababu Naidu.
As for Pawan Kalyan, he has age on his side, although it is debatable whether he has the political acumen to assume the highest office at some point in time.
But the next assembly election is actually the most important one for Nara Lokesh. Chandrababu Naidu is in the twilight zone of his career and is naturally keen on establishing his son Lokesh in the saddle.
If the TDP can increase its tally to 50 or more in the polls, Lokesh and the TDP will command respect among the people. In the alliance with Jana Sena, if the TDP loses out on any key constituencies, 50 can then seem like a huge hurdle.
A slight or marginal improvement over its 2019 performance by the TDP will not help the party in any way. For Lokesh and the party to survive, the benchmark should be a minimum of 50.
Anything less than this, and Lokesh and Co can post their CVs on LinkedIn.