HYDERABAD: The ruling TRS has finally nominated two senior leaders Captain V Lakshmikantha Rao and D Srinivas as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha election.
After several rounds of discussions about the candidature of nearly half-a-dozen aspirants, the TRS leadership decided to send Captain Lakshmikantha Rao and D Srinivas to the Upper House.
While Lakshmikantha Rao hails from Brahmin community, DS hails from Munnuru Kapu (BC) community.
Lakshmikantha Rao has been a close confidant of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and was with TRS since its inception. He was among the leaders who were with KCR in the thick and thin of separate Telangana movement.
Lakshmikantha Rao’s son V Satish Kumar is also a TRS MLA. Lakshmikantha Rao thanked KCR for reposing faith in him.
Though DS is currently enjoying a cabinet minister status in the position of adviser to state government on inter-state relations, he is being promoted to Parliament to use his services at the national level as he has good contacts with national leaders, party sources said.
On the other hand, the TRS has decided to field former minister Mohammed Fareeduddin as the party’s candidate for MLC seat that fell vacant after Tummala Nageswara Rao resigned to it following his victory from Palair Assembly segment recently.
Term of two members of Rajya Sabha from the state is due to expire next month. These members are V Hanumantha Rao (Congress) and Gundu Sudha Rani (TDP), who crossed over to TRS last October.
Meanwhile, the YSRC has decided to field YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s close aide and party general secretary V Vijaya Sai Reddy as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Andhra Pradesh. Rajya Sabha elections will be held on June 11.