Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy finalised the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday.
Education Minister Botsa Satyanarayana and Advisor to the Government Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy officially announced the names of V Vijay Sai Reddy, Advocate turned film producer S Niranjan Reddy, BC leader R Krishnaiah, and Industrialist Beeda Masthan Rao.
On Tuesday, he cleared the names with party top leaders V Vijayasai Reddy, Y V Subba Reddy, and Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy at his Tadepalli camp office.
They said Jagan Mohan Reddy announced two candidates from backward classes (Krishnaiah and Masthan Rao) for Rajya Sabha, which once again demonstrates the importance the party has been giving to backward classes.
They further said Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced the candidates without going into the question whether they are from Andhra Pradesh or Telangana.
On June 21, YSR Congress parliamentary party leader V Vijayasai Reddy, BJP members Suresh Prabhu, Y S Chowdary, and T G Venkatesh will be retiring from the Upper house.
The schedule for the election to these four RS seats was released by the Election Commission, and the notification is set to be released on May 21.
As YSRCP has 151 members in the 175-member Assembly, all its candidates are likely to be elected unanimously.
Vijaysai Reddy, a close aide of Jagan Mohan Reddy, has been re-nominated for a second term. A chartered accountant by profession, the 64-year-old leader hails from Nellore district. He was unanimously elected to the Upper House of the Parliament in 2016.
Vijaysai Reddy has been vocal in raising issues pertaining to Andhra Pradesh, including the Special Category Status and privatisation of the Vizag Steel Plant, in the Rajya Sabha.
Masthan Rao is an industrialist and former MLA from Kavali in Nellore district.
He had quit Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to join YSRCP in December 2019, a few months after YSRCP stormed to power.
Krishnaiah, who hails from Vikarabad district of Telangana, is President of the National BC Association. The 68-year-old led several movements for the backward classes and unemployed.
He quit Congress party and joined YSRCP in February 2019 at the invitation of Jagan Mohan Reddy. In 2018 Assembly elections in Telangana, he had contested unsuccessfully on Congress ticket from Miryalaguda constituency.
Earlier in 2014, Krishnaiah had joined TDP in 2014. He was elected to Telangana Assembly from L.B. Nagar constituency in 2014 on TDP ticket but switched loyalties to Congress party on the eve of 2018 elections.
Niranjan Reddy, a senior advocate in the Supreme Court, hails from Nirmal district in Telangana.
He practiced at the High Court in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. He was designated as a Senior Counsel in the Supreme Court in 2016. He appeared as special senior counsel for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in several matters.
With inputs from IANS.
