HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and CM N Chandrababu Naidu. (File photo | EPS)
VIJAYAWADA: A majority of the Cabinet colleagues of AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu are set to lose the elections going by the trends till afternoon. As many as 20 of the 25 cabinet colleagues contested the elections as MLAs and MPs and only a handful of them were leading.
Prominent among those who are set to be defeated are IT minister and son of Chandrababu Naidu Nara Lokesh, Human Resources Development minister Ganta Srinivas, mines and geology minister Sujaya Krishna Ranga Rao and others are trailing well behind their opponents.
The only ministers who were leading are Excise minister K S Jawahar and deputy Chief Minister Nimmakayala Chinna Rajappa.
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Seniors cabinet ministers like P Narayana and Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy (from Nellore district), K Atchannaidu and others, who are expected to give a tight fight, have also failed to live up to expectations. Kidari Sravan Kumar, who was inducted into Chandrababu Naidu's cabinet after the killing of the former's father Kidari Sarveswara Rao (TDP MLA) and was forced to resign from his post recently, is also trailing from Araku assembly seat.
Nara scion and IT minister Nara Lokesh, who contested from Mangalagiri Assembly seat in Amaravati capital area, is trailing by a margin of more than 7000 votes till last reports.
Two other ministers in Naidu's cabinet Siddha Raghava Rao and Ch Adi Narayana Reddy, who contested from Ongole and Kadapa Lok Sabha seats respectively, are also trailing. Adi Narayana Reddy is trailing by more than 1.50 lakh votes in Kadapa Lok Sabha.
Not just the ministers, their scions who jumped into electoral fray are also trailing. Minister Paritala Sunitha paved way for her son Sriram who contested the Raptadu Assembly seat and he is trailing.
Another senior minister KE Krishna Murthy's son Shyam Babu is contesting from Pathikonda Assembly seat and he too is facing tough competition from his rival YSRC candidate.
