TDP, allies begin race for 4 RS seats in Andhra

HYderabadWith the Election direction of bharat on fri announcing the schedule for elections to 24 Rajya Sabha seats from 10 states, including quaternary from Andhra Pradesh, hectic lobbying has begun in the ruling Telugu Desam company (TDP) and its alliance partners in the state — Jana Sena Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), people familiar with the development said.The four vacancies have arisen due to the completion of the terms of four sitting Rajya Sabha members — Parimal Nathwani, Pilli Subhash Chandrabose and Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy from the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), and Sana Satish Babu from the TDP.The notification for elections to these four seats will be issued on June 1, while the last date for filing nominations is June 8. Polling, if necessary, will be held on June 18.Since the TDP and its alliance partners account for 164 out of 175 assembly seats in the state, they are expected to win all four seats unopposed.The YSRCP, which has just 11 MLAs, cannot field its candidate and is set to lose all its three seats to the TDP-led alliance.A senior TDP functionary, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that out of the four vacancies, the TDP is likely to retain two seats and give one seat each to the BJP and Jana Sena.“In all probability, the TDP leadership might nominate Sana Satish Babu for a second term in Rajya Sabha. A businessman-turned-politician, Satish Babu is a close associate of party working president and IT minister Nara Lokesh. He was elected unanimously to the Upper House in December 2024 for the vacancy that had arisen due to the resignation of sitting MP Venkataramana, who resigned from the YSRCP to join the TDP,” the party leader said.According to him, hectic lobbying is underway in the party for the second Rajya Sabha seat.“There are several contenders for the seat, including former finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, educationist Bhashyam Ramakrishna and former Guntur MP and industrialist Galla Jayadev,” he said.In Jana Sena too, there is stiff competition for the lone Rajya Sabha seat likely to be offered as part of the alliance understanding.For the first time, Jana Sena will be entering the Rajya Sabha.“There has been talk that Jana Sena party chief and deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan has zeroed in on businessman Lingamaneni Ramesh, but the choice is being opposed by the Kapu community. There is also a possibility of Pawan Kalyan’s own brother Naga Babu being nominated for the seat,” the TDP leader quoted above said.The BJP is likely to get its third Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh.In April last year, BJP’s Paka Venkata Satyanarayana was elected unanimously to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of V Vijayasai Reddy of the YSRCP.“The decision will be taken at the national level and the party leaders in the state are keeping their fingers crossed,” the TDP functionary added.