Andhra Pradesh on Sunday made up for a good share of votes that propelled President-elect Pranab Mukherjee to victory. Of the 185 valid votes from the state, Mukherjee polled 182, that is 98 percent of the votes, a rare distinction in the presidential elections.
Senior Congress leader Paladugu Venkata Rao on Sunday said that Mukherjee used to recall the relations between Telugus and Bengalis often by remembering Bogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramaiah and Harindranath Chattopadhyay.
Freedom fighter Sitaramaiah had run unsuccessfully for the presidency of the Indian National Congress as the candidate close to Mohandas Gandhi, against Subhas Chandra Bose in the Tripura session of 1939. Chattopadhyay, younger brother of Sarojini Naidu, had the distinction of becoming the first MP from Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency in 1951.