VIJAYAWADA: The suspense over who will be nominated by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for the ensuing Rajya Sabha polls on behalf of the ruling YSRC has almost ended. It is reliably learnt that the CM has finalised the candidacies of Ministers Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, industrialist Ayodhya Rami Reddy and independent candidate Parimal Nathwani. Four Rajya Sabha seats from the State will fall vacant on April 9 this year with the tenures of incumbents, Mohd Ali Khan, T Subbarami Reddy, K Keshava Rao and Thota Seetharama Lakshmi, coming to an end. Elections for the same will be held on March 26 and votes will be counted the same evening.
The victory of the YSRC candidates is a formality as the party has 151 members in the 175-member Assembly. The CM’s decision comes a day ahead of the poll notification. The last date for filing the nominations is March 13.
Sources said Jagan zeroed in on the four candidates after extensive consultations with senior leaders. Two key factors were taken into consideration — loyalty and social justice, a euphemism for balancing caste equations. Deputy Chief Minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose and Marketing Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana are die-hard loyalists and belong to the backward classes. Both were made ministers though they lost in the Assembly polls last year. Both are members of the Legislative Council. However, with the government deciding to abolish the Council, Jagan appears to have decided to send them to the Rajya Sabha.