YSR Congress announces 5 candidates for MLC polls

The ruling YSR Congress on Thursday re-nominated sitting MLC Shaik Mohammed Iqbal and also announced the candidature of four others, including a political heavyweight C Ramachandraiah, for the biennial polls to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, to be elected by the members of the assembly.

The YSRC also chose Challa Bhageerath Reddy for the by- election to the council, to fill the vacancy caused due to the death of his father Ramakrishna Reddy.

Notifications for the biennial election and the by-poll were issued on Thursday and the election, if required, would be held on March 15.

Given its strength of 150, excluding the Speaker, in the assembly, the YSRC is in a comfortable position to bag all the six seats.

It will be a gain of three seats for the YSRC, whose overall strength in the 58-member House will increase to 14, including two nominated members.

Five Council seats will fall vacant on March 29, at the end of the six-year term of the sitting members, three of whom belong to the main opposition Telugu Desam Party.

Besides Iqbal, the YSRC nominated Balli Kalyan Chakravarthy, son of deceased Tirupati MP Durga Prasada Rao, former MP C Ramachandraiah and leader Mohammed Karimunneesa and Duvvada Srinivas for the five seats.

Iqbal, a retired IPS officer, was first elected to the Council on August 19, 2019.

Since he had a short tenure in the first term, Iqbal got re-nominated for a fuller term of six years, party sources said.

Bhageerath Reddy will fill the slot of his father Challa Ramakrishna Reddy till March 29, 2023. Ramakrishna died of Covid-19 in January this year.

Ramachandraiahs re-entry will be the biggest gain for the YSRC in the Council, given his vast legislative experience and political acumen.

He had earlier served as Leader of Opposition in the Council on behalf of the Congress party.

He was earlier with the TDP and the erstwhile Praja Rajyam Party of actor Chiranjeevi, and later the Congress before joining the YSRC.