VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will decide the YSRC candidate for the Tirupati Lok Sabha by-election and all the party MLAs and MPs in Tirupati region will abide by it and strive for the victory of the party candidate, Deputy Chief Minister K Narayanaswamy said. The by-election for Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency was necessitated following the demise of YSRC MP from Tirupati B Durga Prasad recently.
Speaking to mediapersons after a meeting with the Chief Minister on Thursday, Narayanswamy said all the party leaders from Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency attended the meeting and the Chief Minister elicited the opinion of all with regard to the by-election and the party candidate.
Sarvepalli MLA Kakani Govardhan Reddy said the Chief Minister sought the opinion of all leaders from the assembly segments under Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency. “We have decided to leave the selection of the candidate to the Chief Minister and informed the same to him. He will select the candidate at his discretion and we all will abide by it and strive to get more majority than the previous election,” the MLA said.
Govardhan Reddy maintained that none of them proposed any candidate, but only explained to the Chief Minister about the prevailing situation in the respective segments, local needs and aspirations.
When asked about his opinion on TDP fielding former minister Panabaka Lakshmi, the deputy Chief Minister said it is irrelevant for them as to who the TDP fields. “It is better not to ask about the TDP which is known for its back-stabbing politics,” he said.
Ministers Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, Kodali Nani, Anil Kumar, Botcha Satyanarayana, MPs Mopidevi Venkatamrana, Vemireddy Prabahakar Reddy, chief whip in Legislative Council Ummareddy Venkateswarlu, and government advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy were present at the meeting.