BJP’s Andhra Pradesh chief and former Union Minister D. Purandeswari and former Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy are among six candidates announced by the party on Sunday to fight the Lok Sabha elections from the state.
Purandeswari, daughter of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder and former Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao, will contest from Rajahmundry, and Kiran Kumar Reddy, the last Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh who joined the BJP last year, has been named as the candidate from Rajampet.
Former Rajya Sabha member C M. Ramesh, who had quit TDP to join the BJP in 2019, will contest from Anakapalle.
BJP’s state Vice President and former MP Kothapalli Geetha will contest from Araku (ST) seat. She quit the YSR Congress Party to join the BJP in 2019 after the party had denied her ticket.
Former MP Velagapalli Varaprasad Rao will contest from Tirupati (SC). His candidature was announced a few hours after he joined the BJP in Delhi.
An MLA of YSR Congress from Gudur, he joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Anurag Thakur and BJP General Secretary Vinod Tawde at the BJP headquarters. He was elected from Tirupati Lok Sabha seat on YSR Congress ticket in 2014 and was elected MLA in 2019. This time, the party had denied him a ticket.
The BJP is contesting the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the TDP and Jana Sena Party. Under the seat-sharing agreement, it has been allotted six Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats.
Elections to the 175-member Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state are scheduled on May 13.