Andhra Pradesh is now geared up for another crucial electoral exercise as the Election Commission declared three vacant seats of the Rajya Sabha for by-elections in the state. This announcement adds to the political cacophony already going on in the state as the just concluded general and MLC polls are still not over. One seat each in Odisha, West Bengal and Haryana too would be voting for their new representative.
The Rajya Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh remained vacant after the resignation of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) members Mopidevi Venkataramana, Beeda Masthan Rao, and R. Krishnaiah. Schedule of the EC, the notification for these elections will be released on December 3, with nomination procedures completing on December 10. The scrutiny of nominations will occur on December 11, while withdrawal of candidatures will be allowed up to December 13.
The voting for the seats is slated to occur on December 20 and the counting of the same will start on the same day at 5 PM. It is going to be a swift conclusion to the whole election process with the declaration of the results also on December 20.
The three MPs’ resignations are speculated to be in anticipation of something, and pressure from the BJP at the central level may have been a factor. With the Rajya Sabha Chairman accepting their resignations, the elections will also further highlight the central leadership’s involvements. The ruling coalition in Andhra Pradesh will win all three seats, thereby further cementing its position in the Rajya Sabha.
