The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) announced Beedha Masthan Rao and Sana Satish as its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha bye-elections in Andhra Pradesh. The announcement, made by TDP president and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, comes a day before the deadline for nominations.
The bye-elections are scheduled for December 20, with three seats up for grabs. The TDP will contest two of the seats, leaving the remaining one for its ally, the BJP, which has fielded R Krishnaiah.
The vacancies arose from the recent resignations of Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao, Masthan Rao Yadav, and Krishnaiah, all of whom previously belonged to the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). While Mopidevi and Matshan Rao joined the TDP after leaving the YSRCP in August, Krishnaiah stated his intention to focus on strengthening the backward class movement.
Masthan Rao and Krishnaiah return to the Rajya Sabha, while Satish, a businessman-turned-politician, enters Parliament as an MP. Masthan Rao's political journey includes a stint as an MLA on a TDP ticket from Kavali in 2009 and a Rajya Sabha seat awarded by the YSRCP in 2022 after he joined the party in 2019. Mopidevi's term ended June 21, 2026, while the other two terms ended June 21, 2028.
The TDP, leading the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is likely to secure a unanimous victory in the Rajya Sabha elections 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.
The TDP's victory will mark its return to the upper house of Parliament after a brief absence. The party did not participate in the Rajya Sabha elections held in February due to insufficient numbers in the Assembly, resulting in no TDP representation in the Rajya Sabha for the first time in its four-decade history.