India News | YSRC Prefers Telangana Candidates, Overlooking AP Leaders for RS

Amaravati, May 17 (PTI) The ruling YSR Congress on Tuesday announced four candidates, including two from neighbouring Telangana, for as many Rajya Sabha seats from Andhra Pradesh, biennial election for which is slated for June 10.

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YSRC president and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy overlooked the party's local leaders while making the selection, rewarding, instead, two political turncoats from the Telugu Desam.

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In fact, backward classes leader R Krishnaiah, who served as TDP MLA from 2014-19 in Telangana, is not even a member of the YSRC.

Another ex-MLA of TDP, Beeda Masthan Rao switched over to the YSRC after the 2019 elections.

Both have now been chosen for the Upper House of Parliament under the backward classes quota.

"It is unprecedented that we are empowering these classes by giving 50 per cent of seats, treating them as 'backbone classes'," state Education Minister B Satyanarayana and YSRC general secretary S R K Reddy said, announcing the names of the Rajya Sabha nominees.

Asked why no woman was chosen, they said it could happen next time, though the name of former Union Minister Killi Kriparani was considered.

Jagan Mohan Reddy's personal lawyer S Niranjan Reddy from Nirmal in Telangana state is another nominee.

Incumbent MP V Vijayasai Reddy, who is due to retire upon completion of his first term next month, has been re-nominated. He is currently the YSRC Parliamentary party leader and Jagan's points-man in New Delhi.

YSRC leaders see the nomination of Krishnaiah and Masthan Rao as a "strategic move" to wean the BCs away from the TDP, its pillar of strength.

Nomination process for the four Rajya Sabha seats from AP will begin on May 24, with the issue of notification, and the last date for filing papers is 31st.

Election, if required, will be held on June 10 as otherwise it is expected to be a unanimous affair.

Given its strength of 151 MLAs, the YSRC is in a comfortable position to bag all four seats.

Its strength in the Council of States will swell to 9 (out of 11) after the biennial election.

Of the nine, four will be from the Reddy community and four from backward classes. Parimal Nathwani, hailing from Gujarat, is the other YSRC member of Rajya Sabha.

The TDP and the BJP will be left with one MP each.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)