The selection of retired IAS officer K Ratna Prabha as the candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the by-election to Tirupati parliamentary seat has evoked positive reactions from the party leaders.
Right from BJP state president Somu Veerraju to every leader in the party extended their best wishes to Ratna Prabha, who had been a sincere party worker in Karnataka after her retirement as the chief secretary of that state.
Ratna Prabha, too, expressed her gratitude to all the party leaders. She said it was a pleasant surprise for her and she would strive hard to realise the confidence the party reposed in her.
“It’s a god-sent opportunity for me to contest the elections from this holy town. I will touch every single voter in the constituency and see that I will emerge victorious,” she said.
Surprisingly, there has not been any reaction from Jana Sena Party headed by actor Pawan Kalyan, the alliance partner of the BJP in Andhra Pradesh. In fact, the BJP is heavily banking on Jana Sena activists and the fan-base of Pawan.
But neither Pawan nor his deputy Nadendla Manohar and their party colleagues made any statement till now even to congratulate Ratna Prabha, let alone expressing their support to her in the elections.
This unusual silence from Jana Sena camp, at least till now, has come as a shock to the BJP leaders.
“We shall contact Pawan and his party colleagues to seek their support. After all, they are our alliance partners and it is their responsibility to take up the campaign for the BJP candidate,” a BJP leader said.