Rajya Sabha Battle in AP: Big Names, Bigger Competition!

Four more Rajya Sabha seats of Andhra Pradesh are going to be vacant by June. Among the members who will be retiring in June, three are from the YSRCP and one is from the TDP.

The terms of Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, and Parimal Nathwani, who represent the YSRCP in the Rajya Sabha, will end on June 21, 2026. The term of Sana Satish, who won on behalf of the TDP in the by-election held last December, will also end in June.

Based on the current strengths of the parties, the alliance is expected to win four seats. TDP is likely to renew the seat of Sana Satish and that leaves three. Janasena and BJP will get one each and TDP will pick the last one. Janasena may finally have its first Rajya Sabha MP this time.

There is a strong buzz that Pawan Kalyan will give this seat to Industrialist Lingamaneni Ramesh who is close to both Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan.

Sources also say the BJP may field its former TN BJP Chief Annamalai from this seat in Andhra Pradesh. Annamalai contested from Coimbatore seat in the last Lok Sabha elections and lost. Nara Lokesh campaigned for him. There are reports that both of them are very close and so, the TDP High Command is happy with the selection.

There is intense competition for the last seat in the TDP. Former MP Jayadev Galla, Bhashyam Ramakrishna, and Kilaru Rajesh are the frontrunners, sources say.

Harassed by the previous Government, Jayadev announced his Political Retirement just before the 2024 elections.

In his last political press meet, Jayadev revealed that despite contributing ₹1,200 crore in state taxes and ₹3,800 crore in central taxes, he was subjected to witch-hunting by state departments and central agencies like the CBI and ED. The Harassment is mainly because Jayadev’s fiery speeches on Special Status.

Bhashyam Ramakrishna is a TDP Supporter for a long time and also funds the party. He expected Guntur Parliament seat in the last election but Pemmasani Chandrasekhar got it.

And Kilaru Rajesh is very close to Nara Lokesh and took care of Lokesh’s Padayatra completely. He is also known for taking care of many things in TDP’s back office.

There is no Kamma representation in TDP Rajya Sabha MPs. So, there is an expectation that this seat will go to that community.

Even though it is difficult, Devineni Uma, Pithapuram Varma, and Jawahar, who lost their seats due to alliance, along with senior leaders Varla Ramaiah, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Kambhampati Rammohan Rao, and TD Janardhan, are also hoping for a chance.

We will have to see who will have the blessings of Chandrababu Naidu finally!