VIJAYAWADA: The race for the four Rajya Sabha seats which fell vacant from Andhra Pradesh, hots up in the NDA as the elections are scheduled for June 18. With the TDP-led NDA government having an absolute majority in the State Assembly with 164 MLAs out of the total 175, all the four seats will be secured by it.
Though it is not known whether the TDP will allot one or two seats to its coalition partners BJP and JSP, the competition within Telugu Desam has intensified with aspirants queuing up before party supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Speculations are rife that the TDP may not allot any Rajya Sabha seat to the BJP this time around going by the talks of State BJP leaders with the TDP supremo.
TDP faces tough choices over 3 seats
It is being rumoured that the TDP may offer one Rajya Sabha seat to the Jana Sena Party led by Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan.
As the competition is high among aspirants, it is going to be a herculean task for the TDP leadership to pick three suitable candidates considering all equations. The TDP leadership is learnt to be considering to continue the membership of Sana Satish Babu, a close associate of TDP working president and HRD and IT Minister Nara Lokesh. In such a scenario, the TDP leadership will have to pick candidates for two Rajya Sabha seats.
With several senior leaders like former minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, former MPs Kambhampati Rammohan Rao, Galla Jayadev, Politburo member Varla Ramaiah and several others keeping high hopes on the Rajya Sabha seat, the TDP leadership is said to be buying time to select candidates.
“The TDP leadership is yet to take a decision on the Rajya Sabha seats. There is no clarity yet whether the party will allot any seats to the BJP and the JSP,” a senior TDP leader said.
In the event of JSP getting an RS, it is believed that industrialist Lingamaneni Ramesh may be the party’s choice.
The four vacancies arise with the retirement of YSRCP members Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose and Parimal Nathwani, along with TDP’s Sana Satish.
