YSRC's Raju files nomination for bypoll to lone AP council seat

Amaravati, Aug 13 (PTI): Penumatsa Varaha Venkata Suryanarayana Raju on Thursday filed his nomination as the ruling YSR Congress candidate for the by-election to a lone seat in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, scheduled for August 24.

Amaravati, Aug 13 (PTI): Penumatsa Varaha Venkata Suryanarayana Raju on Thursday filed his nomination as the ruling YSR Congress candidate for the by-election to a lone seat in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, scheduled for August 24. However, since Raju is the only candidate in the fray when the nomination process ended on Thursday afternoon, his unanimous election is just a formality.

Rajus election to the seat will be formally announced on August 17, the last date for withdrawal of nominations, sources in the Election Commission here said. Raju is the son of veteran leader P Sambasiva Raju of Vizianagaram district, who passed away recently.

YSR Congress president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy chose Suryanarayana Raju to fill the Council vacancy caused by the resignation of Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao on his election to the Rajya Sabha. Once elected, Raju will have tenure till March 29, 2023.

Only one of the two vacancies in the Legislative Council under the MLAs quota will be filled in the by-election. Though another YSRC member Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose also resigned along with Mopidevi, by-election to fill that vacancy was not notified ostensibly because the members tenure was only till March 29, 2021.

"Since the remaining tenure is only for a period less than a year, the vacancy is not being filled immediately," sources in the Election Commission here said..