Amaravati, June 4 (IANS) The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is heading the coalition government in Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday decided to contest three Rajya Sabha seats, leaving one for its ally Jana Sena.

The agreement was reached at a meeting attended by leaders of alliance partners, TDP, Jana Sena, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The NDA is sure to win all four Rajya Sabha seats going to polls on June 18, going by its overwhelming majority in the state legislative Assembly.

The meeting, presided over by Chief Minister and TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu, was attended by Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan and state BJP president PVN Madhav.

The meeting, which was also attended by state minister Nadendla Manohar of Jana Sena and state TDP president Palla Srinivas, lasted for more than two hours.

The NDA leaders said after the meeting that they discussed the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, celebrations to highlight the achievements of the NDA governments at the state and Centre levels over the last two years, Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and other issues.

TDP and Jana Sena are likely to announce their Rajya Sabha candidates in the next couple of days. Jana Sena will be opening its account in the Upper House of Parliament.

The last date for filing nominations is June 8. Polling, if necessary, will be held on June 18.

The vacancies from Andhra Pradesh are arising as the term of the four members is set to end on June 21.

The members retiring are Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Nathwani Parimal, Pilli Subhaschandra Bose (all from YSR Congress Party), and Sana Satish Babu of TDP.

The NDA is likely to secure a unanimous victory due to its strength in the 175-member Assembly. The TDP holds 135 seats, while its allies, Jana Sena and BJP, have 21 and 8 seats respectively, compared to the YSRCP’s 11 seats.

Businessman-turned-politician Satish Babu was one of the three NDA candidates elected unanimously in December 2024 to fill the vacancies left by the resignations of Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao, B. Masthan Rao, and Krishnaiah, all belonging to the YSRCP.

While Mopidevi and Masthan Rao joined the TDP, Krishnaiah announced his intention to focus on strengthening the backward class movement. This followed the NDA’s landslide victory in the May 2024 elections.

In the bye-elections, TDP had fielded Satish Babu and Masthan Rao, while BJP had fielded Krishnaiah. All three were elected unopposed.

–IANS

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