Amaravati: Three candidates for the Rajya Sabha bye-elections from Andhra Pradesh—S Satish Babu and B Mastan Rao Yadav from TDP, and R Krishnaiah from BJP—were elected unopposed on Friday.
The press release from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer stated, “The 2024 Rajya Sabha by-elections to fill three casual vacancies from Andhra Pradesh are uncontested, and the following candidates have been declared elected,” listing the names of Babu, Yadav, and Krishnaiah.
As only three NDA candidates filed nominations, their election to the Rajya Sabha was expected to be a foregone conclusion after the scrutiny of nominations and other formalities.
These candidates secured victory in the by-election one week ahead of the scheduled election date of December 20, as there were no opponents.
The TDP-led NDA alliance holds a dominant majority of 164 seats in the southern state’s Assembly, with TDP, BJP, and Janasena forming the ruling alliance.
TDP has 135 Assembly seats, followed by Janasena with 21 and BJP with 8.
For the first time in nearly 40 years, TDP had no representation in the Council of States for almost a year, as it refrained from contesting the Rajya Sabha elections earlier in 2024 due to a lack of sufficient MLAs. This situation has now changed.
The casual vacancies arose following the resignations of YSRCP Rajya Sabha members M Venkata Ramana, Yadav, and BC leader Krishnaiah.
Yadav and Krishnaiah resigned with up to four years remaining in their respective tenures, while Rao had up to two years left. This dealt a major blow to the YSRCP, which lost three members in quick succession from the Council of States.
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