Amaravati: All four candidates of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Andhra Pradesh have been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.
Three candidates of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and one candidate of Jana Sena Party (JSP) were declared elected by the returning officer on Thursday after the period for withdrawal of nominations came to an end.
As no other nomination was received and four candidates for four seats remained in the fray after the withdrawal window closed on Thursday evening, Sana Sathish Babu, Bhashyam Ramakrishna, and Vijay Chintakayala of TDP and Lingamaneni Ramesh of JSP were declared elected without contest.
Elections for four Rajya Sabha seats were scheduled to be held on June 18.
The vacancies from Andhra Pradesh arose due to the retirement of Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Nathwani Parimal, Pilli Subhaschandra Bose, all belonging to the YSR Congress Party and Sana Sathish Babu of the TDP.
Sathish Babu, a close associate of TDP national working president Nara Lokesh, has been elected to the Upper House for the second term, while the remaining three are first-time MPs.
Belonging to the Kapu community, the businessman-turned-politician was aspiring for a Lok Sabha ticket in 2024. However, the party could not give him the ticket. After the coalition came to power, he was sent to the Rajya Sabha in the byelection held in December 2024 due to the resignation of Mopidevi Venkataramana of the YSR Congress Party.
Bhashyam Ramakrishna is a prominent educationalist and entrepreneur who founded the Bhashyam group, a private educational network with operations in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He is a Kamma, a socially and politically powerful caste to which TDP national president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu belongs.
Ramakrishna was an aspirant for a Lok Sabha ticket from Guntur in 2024, but the party could not nominate him due to various reasons.
Chintakayala Vijay is the son of Andhra Assembly Speaker Ayyanna Patrudu. A backward class member from north coastal Andhra, Vijay, is one of the younger leaders considered close to Lokesh. He was also an aspirant for a Lok Sabha ticket from Anakapalli, but he was not given the opportunity as the TDP had to leave the seat for the BJP.
With Lingamaneni Ramesh’s election, Jana Sena, led by Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, has made its debut in the Rajya Sabha.
Ramesh has been associated with Jana Sena since 2015.
The NDA made a clean sweep in the Rajya Sabha polls thanks to its overwhelming majority in the state Assembly.
In the 175-member House, the TDP holds 135 seats, while its allies, Jana Sena and BJP, have 21 and eight seats, respectively. The YSR Congress Party has only 11 seats.
(IANS)
