All six candidates of the ruling parties in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were Friday elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
Four candidates of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh and both the candidates of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in Telangana were declared elected after the last date for withdrawal of nominations.
With opposition parties not fielding any candidates and none of six candidates withdrawing from the contest, they were declared elected without a contest by the respective Chief Electoral Officers.
The elections for six Rajya Sabha seats were scheduled to be held on June 10.
YSRCP Parliamentary Party leader V. Vijaysai Reddy has been re-elected to the upper house of the Parliament for a second term. The remaining are the first-time MPs.
Backward classes leader R. Krishnaiah and Supreme Court lawyer S. Niranjan Reddy, both belonging to Telangana, and industrialist Beeda Masthan Rao are the other declared elected from Andhra Pradesh.
Vijaysai Reddy, a close aide of Jagan Mohan Reddy, is a chartered accountant by profession. The 64-year-old leader hails from Nellore district. He was unanimously elected to Rajya Sabha for the first term in 2016.
Masthan Rao is an industrialist and former MLA from Kavali in Nellore district. He had quit the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to join the YSRCP in December 2019, a few months after the latter stormed to power.
Krishnaiah, who hails from Vikarabad district of Telangana, is President of the National BC Association. The 68-year-old, who led several movements for the backward classes and unemployed, was TDP's chief ministerial candidate in Telangana in 2014 elections.
He quit the Congress and joined the YSRCP in February 2019 at the invitation of Jagan Mohan Reddy. In 2018 Assembly elections in Telangana, he had contested unsuccessfully on Congress ticket from Miryalaguda constituency.
Earlier in 2014, Krishnaiah had joined the TDP in 2014. He was elected to Telangana Assembly from L. B. Nagar constituency in 2014 on a TDP ticket but switched loyalties to Congress on the eve of 2018 elections.
Niranjan Reddy, a senior advocate in the Supreme Court, hails from Nirmal district in Telangana. He appeared on behalf of Jagan Mohan Reddy in quid pro quo cases.
After his unanimous election, Vijaysai Reddy said all 30 MPs of YSRCP will raise their voice in Parliament for the state's interests.
He said they would work to continue cordial relations with the Central government. He said he and other MPs would do their best to live up to the expectations of party leader and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Masthan Rao said he joined the YSRCP unconditionally and did not aspire for a Rajya Sabha seat.
In Telangana, Hetero Drugs Chairman and Managing Director Bandi Parthasaradhi Reddy and Telangana Publications Private Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Divakonda Damodar Rao were elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
Parthasaradhi Reddy is the founder and head of Hetero Drugs, a Hyderabad-based generic pharmaceutical company.
He is a billionaire and one of the richest Indians in Hurun India Rich List 2021. Parthasaradhi Reddy and family of Hetero Labs ranked 58 in the list of wealthiest Indians in 2021, against 81 in 2020 list. According to Hurun list, they have a wealth of Rs 26,100 crore, a growth of 88 per cent in a year.
Damodar Rao is Chairman and Managing Director Telangana Publications Private Ltd. The company runs Telugu daily 'Namasthe Telangana', English newspaper 'Telangana Today' and Telugu news channel 'T-News', considered as mouthpieces of the ruling party.
They thanked Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for nominating them to Rajya Sabha and promised to work to the best of their ability to serve the people of Telangana.
Earlier on May 23, businessman-turned-politician Ravichandra Vaddiraju of the TRS was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha in the by-election, caused by the resignation of Banda Prakash Mudiraj after he was elected to the Telangana Legislative Council in December 2021.