VIJAYAWADA: In a jolt to the TDP before the elections, the nomination of its candidate from ST reserved Kurupam constituency in Vizianagaram district was rejected for submitting false caste certificate. The party nominated Janardhana Thatraj Veera Vara Thodramal as its candidate and also gave the B-Form to him.
During the scrutiny of nominations, BJP candidate Nimmaka Jayaraju raised objections over the caste certificate submitted by Janardhana. Following a case regarding the caste of Janardhana, the High Court had in 2012 ruled that Janardhana is not a ST. Janardhana, however, submitted a ST certificate that he obtained in 2013 along with the nomination. Following this, BJP’s Jayaraju and Congress candidate Nimmaka Simhachalam too raised the objection.
“After inquiry into the objection, and following the court judgement dated August 20, 2012, the nomination of Janardhana was rejected,’’ Kurupam ST constituency returning officer V Visweswara Rao said. The party will now support Janardhana’s mother VT Narasimha Priya, who had filed her nomination as a dummy candidate, district TDP officials said.
Earlier in the day, there were reports about the possibility of rejection of IT minister Nara Lokesh’s nomination from Mangalagiri Assembly constituency as some candidates raised objections over the affidavit filed by him. However, returning officer Mousana Begum said the objections raised over the affidavit were later clarified and the nomination was accepted.