Andhra Pradesh: TDP Shortlists Five Candidates for Vizag MLC By-Election
VISHAKHAPATNAM: Five leaders of Telugu Desam are in the race for getting nominated as the party candidate for by-election to vacant Legislative Council seat from the Visakhapatnam Local Authorities’ Constituency.
The seat fell vacant after Ch. Vamsi Krishna Yadav resigned from the seat before general elections to the AP Legislative Assembly.
Election authorities issued the notification for by-election to the Vizag local authorities’ MLC seat on Tuesday. Elections will be held on August 30. Contenders for the seat from TDP are former MLAs Gandi Babji and Peela Govind, Anakapalli parliamentary party president Battula Tataya, Madugula assembly segment in-charge P.V.G. Kumar and Dileep Chakravarthy.
Partners of the NDA alliance held discussions on short listing of the candidates at the residence of TD state president Palla Srinivasa Rao’s residence in Gajuwaka on Monday evening.
Those present at the meeting included speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu, MLAs Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy, Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, K.S.N. Raju, P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, Ch. Vamsi Krishna Yadav, Kolla Lalitha Kumari, MLC Duvvarapu Rama Rao and north Andhra TD in-charge Damacharla Satya.
The leaders discussed the prospects of each candidate and their financial strength. All the five aspirants have volunteered to spend their own money for the elections. Alliance partners Jana Sena and BJP are not putting up their candidates.
The NDA alliance meeting assumes importance as YSRC has put up former minister Botsa Satyanarayana as its MLC candidate.
“We have sent a short-list of five candidates. Party high command will take a decision,” on the party nominee, north Andhra in-charge of the party Damacharla Satya said.
A draft voters’ list released on Monday shows there are 838 voters in the Visakhapatnam Local Authorities’ Constituency. They are 636 MPTCs, 36 ZPTCs, 97 corporators, 53 municipal councillors and 16 ex-officio members.
The returning officers will accept objections to the draft voters’ list till August 10.
Visakhapatnam collector M.N. Harinder Prasad issued the election notification for the Vizag local authorities’ constituency on Tuesday. Nominations will be accepted till August 13. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is August 16.
Elections will be held on August 30. Votes polled will be counted on September 3. The collector held a meeting on Tuesday with top officials on strict enforcement of model code of conduct in view of the forthcoming MLC election.