Days after announcing two MP candidates ahead of the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly polls to be held in Andhra Pradesh on April 11, actor-turned-politician and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan released the first list consisting of 32 MLA candidates along with two other MP candidates.
Out of 32 MLA candidates, four notable candidates found a place in the list. Former Congress leader and united Andhra’s ex-Speaker Nadendla Manohar, who joined the party less than a year ago, has been given the Tenali ticket, while Thota Chandrashekar, a former IAS officer who reportedly owns the 99TV TV channel, has been given the Guntur West ticket.
Ravela Kishore Babu, a minister who quit the TDP citing caste bias and discrimination, has been given the Prathipadu Assembly ticket. Dr A Bharat Bhushan, a former Indian Railways officer, has been given the Vemuru Assembly ticket. Ravela and Bharat both hail from Dalit communities.
An official release from the party on Wednesday stated that Pawan had face-to-face communication with the candidates before releasing the first list. Among the 32 MLA candidates, as many as 8 new candidates were selected through a “diligent” application process, headed by a committee, the party said.
Wednesday’s statement also announced the party’s Lok Sabha candidates for Anakapalle – Chintala Parthasarathi and for Vishakapatanam – Gedela Srinubabu.
Earlier this week, Jana Sena declared two Lok Sabha contestants – DMR Sekhar from Amalapuram and Dr Akula Satyanarayana from Rajahmundry. While DMR Sekhar is a former ONGC employee who resigned to join the Jana Sena, Akula is a former BJP MLA who won in 2014.
Andhra Pradesh, which is expected to see a multi-cornered fight, has 175 Assembly and 25 Parliament constituencies. The Jana Sena plans to contest all of them in an alliance with Left parties, CPI and CPM. The party has already been allotted its poll symbol, a glass tumbler, by the Election Commission.
The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and opposition YSRCP are also expected to announce their candidates soon.
Here are the MP and MLA candidates from Jana Sena’s first list:
MP candidates
1. Amalapuram: DMR Sekhar
2. Rajahmuṇḍry: Dr Akula Satyanarayana
3. Visakhapatanam: Gedela Srinubabu
4. Anakapalle: Chintala Parthasarathi
MLA candidates
1. Yalamanchili: Sundarapu Vijay Kumar
2. Payakaraopet: Nakka Rajababu
3. Paderu: Pasupuleti Balaraju
4. Rajam: Dr Mucha Srinivasa Rao
5. Srikakulam: Korada Sarveswara Rao
6. Palasa: Poornachandra Rao
7. Etcherla: Badava Venkata Janardan
8. Nellimarla: Loka Nagamadhavi
9. Tuni: Raja Ashok Babu
10. Rajahmundry Rural: Kandula Durgesh
11. Razole: Rapaka Vara Prasad
12. P Gannavaram: Rajeshwari Pamula
13. Kakinada City: Mutta Shashidar
14. Anaparthi: Relangi Nageshwar Rao
15. Mummidivaram: P Balakrishna
16. Mandapeta: Veguḷla Leelakrishna
17. Taḍepalligudem: B Srinivas
18. Unguturu: Navudu Venkataramana
19. Eluru: Reddy Appala Naidu
20. Tenali: Nadendla Manohar
21. Guntur West: Thota Chandrashekar
22. Prathipadu: Ravela Kishore Babu
23. Vemuru: Dr A Bharat Bhushan
24. Narasaraopeta: Syed Jiliani
25. Kavali: Pasupuleti Sudhaker
26. Nellore Rural: Chennareddi Manukranth Reddy
27. Adoni: Mallikarjun Rao
28. Dharmavaram: Madhusudan Reddy
29. Rajampet: Pathipati Kusumakumari
30. Railway Koduru: Dr B Venkata Subbaiah
31. Punganur: Rama Chandra Yadav
32. Machilipatnam: Bandi Ramakrishna