Amaravati: BJP MLC candidate Somu Veerraju has dismissed allegations of lobbying for the MLC ticket and refuted claims of a secret association with former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Addressing media reports, he clarified that he had no prior acquaintance with Jagan until the latter became CM, except for a single meeting in the Legislative Council.
Veerraju further revealed that Chandrababu Naidu had offered him a ministerial position in 2014, which he declined. He also stated that the use of special flights for nomination filing was a party decision. Rejecting claims that he opposed Chandrababu or Amaravati, he emphasized that his association with Chandrababu was similar to the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the TDP chief.
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With Tuesday being the last day for nominations, Veerraju formally submitted his papers. He previously served as an MLC from 2014 to 2019 and later as BJP’s Andhra Pradesh state president before being succeeded by Daggubati Purandeswari.
Of the five vacant MLC seats in Andhra Pradesh, three have been allotted to TDP, one to Jana Sena, and one to BJP. TDP has nominated Kavali Greeshma (ST), Beeda Ravi Chandra (BC), and BT Naidu (BC), while Jana Sena has fielded Naga Babu.