No contest for RS seats in Telangana, AP

​Hyderabad: With the process of nominations for six Rajya Sabha seats, four in Andhra Pradesh and two in Telangana State having concluded here on Tuesday, the stage is set for all of them getting elected unanimously. Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu, Union minister of State Y S Chowdary, former minister T G Venkatesh and V Vijayasai Reddy of YSRCP filed nominations from Andhra Pradesh.

As a precautionary measure, the YSRCP asked Vijayasai Reddy’s wife Sunanda Reddy also to file nomination in case Vijayasai Reddy’s nomination gets rejected. Senior TRS leader D Srinivas and Capt Lakshmikanta Rao filed their nominations for the two Rajya Sabha seats in Telangana.

Though at one point of time the TDP thought of forcing a contest by fielding fourth candidate, the party decided not to do so as it does not have necessary strength to win the seat.

Suresh Prabhu, who was accompanied by Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapati Raju, AP minister for Health Kamineni Srinivas, TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh and TS BJP president Prof K Laxman and others, said he would strive for the development of the residuary state of AP and thanked AP Chief Minister and TDP for supporting his candidature.

T G Venkatesh thanked Naidu for giving a chance for him to represent Kurnool district in Rajya Sabha. This for the first time that Kurnool has got a chance, he said. Y S Chowdary for whom this would be a second term said that he would continue to see that the state gets all that was due from the Centre as per the AP State Reorganisation Act.

TS leaders D Srinivas and Capt Lakshmikanta Rao thanked Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for giving them an opportunity by sending them to the Upper House. Talking to media after filing nominations, D Srinivas said he would try his best to see that the Centre clears the issues related to Telangana.

The statehood has been achieved for jobs, resources and waters, he said adding that they would vie for getting adequate funds for Telangana. “KCR is the only leader in the country to lead a movement in a constitutional way. He has great vision to transform the State into a ‘Bangaru Telangana’ and we will take his idea forward in that direction,” said Srinivas.

He said that he had total confidence that 75 per cent of the works pertaining to irrigation projects would be completed by the end of this government’s term. Captain Lakshmikanta Rao said that KCR government was noted for keeping promises. “Telangana has been achieved for jobs, waters and resources and we would follow the direction of the chief minister,” he said.

Stating that the former Congress leader had long political career, Home Minister Naini Narasimha Reddy said the experience of DS would help the TRS government get benefits from the Centre. Similarly the Captain, who played a key role in statehood movement, would serve the party at central level for the state development, he added.

Taking a dig at TDP on its candidates for Rajya Sabha, TRS MP B Vinod Kumar said, “Our party has nominated those who worked for people whereas the TDP nominated businessmen to the Upper House, which shows the difference between two chief ministers.”