BJP’s Andhra Pradesh chief and former Union Minister D. Purandeswari and former Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy are among six candidates announced by the party on Sunday to fight the Lok Sabha elections from the state.
Purandeswari, daughter of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder and former Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao, will contest from Rajahmundry, and Kiran Kumar Reddy, the last Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh, who joined the BJP last year, has been named as the candidate from Rajampet.
Moreover, former Rajya Sabha member of TDP, C M. Ramesh, who had quit TDP to join the BJP in 2019, will contest from Anakapalle. BJP’s state Vice President and former MP Kothapalli Geetha will contest from Araku (ST) seat. She quit the YSR Congress Party to join the BJP in 2019, after the party had denied her ticket.
Former MP Velagapalli Varaprasad Rao will contest from Tirupati (SC). His candidature was announced a few hours after he joined the BJP in Delhi, on Sunday. Presently he is Guduru MLA and he was denied re-nomination by the YSRCP.
The BJP is contesting the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the TDP and Jana Sena Party. Under the seat-sharing agreement, it has been allotted six Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats.
Incidentally, sitting Narsapur MP Raghurama Krishnam Raju, who had rebelled against chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy and fought against his misgovernance, is now denied opportunity to contest again, as BJP chosen to nominate a new person from his Narsapur constituency. Political circles felt that Jagan Mohan Reddy succeeded in influencing BJP to prevent him from contesting again.
