NDA candidates for bypolls to 3 RS seats in Andhra Pradesh file nomination

Amaravati (The Uttam Hindu): Candidates of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday filed nominations for by-elections to three Rajya Sabha seats from the state. Beedha Masthan Rao and Sana Satish filed nominations as candidates of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) while R. Krishnaiah filed his papers as a nominee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Agriculture Minister and TDP leader K. Atchannaidu and some MLAs of the three NDA partners were present when the three candidates filed their nominations before the returning officer at the State Legislature complex. Speaking to media persons, the candidates thanked their respective parties for fielding them. They said they would do their best for the state’s development. The TDP and BJP candidates stated that they would work under the leadership of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to take Andhra Pradesh ahead on the path of development.

Krishnaiah said he had been fighting for backward classes for the last 50 years. He also stated that association with the RSS created leadership qualities in him and he would continue to work for the development of BCs. Tuesday was the last day for filing nominations for by-elections. The polling, if necessary, will be held on December 20.

The election of all three candidates of NDA is likely to be unanimous going by its strength in the 175-member Assembly. The TDP has 135 members while its allies Jana Sena and BJP have 21 and 8 seats respectively. The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which lost power to the NDA in the elections held in May, has only 11 MLAs. The vacancies were caused by the recent resignations of Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao, Masthan Rao Yadav and Krishnaiah, all of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).

While Mopidevi and Matshan Rao joined the TDP after resigning from the YSRCP in August, Krishnaiah announced that he would work to strengthen the backward class movement. Mopidevi had his term up to June 21, 2026, while the term of the other two was to end on June 21, 2028. Masthan Rao, an industrialist and Krishnaiah will return to Rajya Sabha while Satish, a businessman-turned-politician, will be making his debut as the MP. Mastan Rao quit TDP to join YSRCP in 2019, a few months after YSRCP stormed to power. In 2022, Jagan Mohan Reddy rewarded Mastan Rao with the Rajya Sabha seat

Rao was elected MLA on the TDP ticket from Kavali in 2009 but lost the election in 2014. He contested unsuccessfully from Nellore Lok Sabha constituency on a TDP ticket in 2019. With the election of Masthan Rao and Satish, the TDP will re-enter the Upper House of Parliament. The TDP had stayed away from Rajya Sabha elections held in February this year due to a lack of sufficient numbers in the Assembly. For the first time in its four-decade history, the TDP had no representation in the Rajya Sabha. Krishnaiah, president of the National BC Association, was elected to the Telangana Assembly from the L.B. Nagar constituency in 2014 on a TDP ticket but switched loyalties to the Congress party on the eve of the 2018 elections.

In the 2018 Assembly elections in Telangana, he contested unsuccessfully on a Congress ticket from the Miryalaguda constituency. In 2019, he quit the Congress party and joined YSRCP at the invitation of Jagan Mohan Reddy. He was elected unanimously to the Rajya Sabha in 2022.