VIJAYAWADA: The NDA government has finalised Varla Ramayya from the SC community and Dalavai Ramadevi from the BC Vaddera community for nomination to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota.
The names were approved by the State Cabinet and sent to the Governor for formal approval.
The nominations have been made against two vacancies under the Governor’s quota that arose following the completion of the tenure of YSRCP MLCs Pandula Ravindra Babu and M Zakia Khanam in July this year.
Ravindra Babu and Zakia Khanam were nominated to the Legislative Council in July 2020, and their six-year tenure ended in July 2026, leaving the two positions vacant.
The coalition government finalised the names of Varla Ramayya and Dalavai Ramadevi during the Cabinet meeting and forwarded them to the Governor. Ramayya, a senior TDP leader, has been selected from the SC community, while Ramadevi has been chosen from the BC Vaddera community.
The nominations are expected to take effect after the Governor accords approval. Subsequently, the Election Officer will issue a Gazette notification formally notifying their nomination as Members of the Legislative Council.
During the Assembly sessions, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the government had given priority to social justice while selecting the two nominees.
He said it was the first time in history that the Vaddera community had been given an opportunity to have an MLC.
Explaining the selection of Ramadevi, Naidu said that she was an ordinary woman and a grassroots party worker who could not be given an MLA ticket during the elections. He said she had now been given an opportunity to serve as an MLC.