Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh:

The sons of six former Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers will be contesting in the forthcoming Legislative Assembly elections in the state.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is contesting from Pulivendula constituency is the son of former CM YS Rajasekhar Reddy.

Rajasekhar Reddy had represented the Pulivendula constituency, a YSR family bastion, six times between 1978 and 2009. He died in a chopper crash on September 2, 2009, shortly after assuming the role of the chief minister for a second time.

Nara Lokesh, son of three-time CM and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, will be contesting for a second time in the upcoming elections after his first attempt to win from Mangalagiri in 2019 ended in failure. This time around, Lokesh will be challenged by YSRCP’s M Lavanya.

Lokesh is also the grandson of former CM and Tollywood legend N T Rama Rao (NTR), who founded the TDP in 1982.

Tollywood actor and sitting Hindupur MLA N Balakrishna, who is the son of NTR, is contesting from the same constituency again.

Hindupur, a stronghold of the NTR family was earlier represented by Rama Rao and his elder son N Harikrishna.

Balakrishna won from Hindupur segment in 2014 and 2019 and will be aiming for a hat-trick.

Janasena leader N Manohar, who is contesting from Tenali constituency on behalf of the NDA comprising the TDP, Janasena and BJP is the son of former CM N Bhaskar Rao.

N Ramkumar Reddy, son of former CM N Janardhan Reddy, is contesting on a YSRCP ticket from Venkatagiri constituency and K Surya Prakash Reddy, son of another former CM K Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy will be trying his luck on a TDP ticket from the Dhone segment.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hyderabad:

Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan on Thursday announced an alliance between his Jana Sena and the Telugu Desam Party of ex-Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who was this week sent to Rajahmundry Jail for two weeks following his arrest in an alleged Rs 371 crore scam case.

Flanked by Mr Naidu’s son, Nara Lokesh, and brother-in-law, Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna, Mr Kalyan hit out at the Andhra Pradesh government over the “not correct” arrest.

“Today I have taken a decision Jana Sena and Telugu Desam will go together in the coming election. This is not about our (his party’s) political future… but the future of Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

Mr Kalyan and Mr Balakrishna met Mr Naidu in jail this morning, after the Andhra Pradesh High Court said Wednesday that the TDP chief must be behind bars till Monday at least.

The state is scheduled to hold an Assembly election next year and Mr Kalyan declared it “cannot afford YSRCP”, referring to the YSR Congress Party of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Mr Kalyan then ripped into the “person who got this (Mr Naidu’s arrest) done” and accused that individual – understood to be Mr Reddy – as “facing big criminal charges”. “From PPA to state directive principles… all violations. Person who is facing Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation cases… who needs permission even to go out of country,” the actor-politician said.

READ | “Jagan Reddy’s Political Conspiracy”: Chandrababu Naidu’s Party On His Arrest

“He did not fulfil his promises and is looting… from liquor he is making cash,” his allegations continued as he slammed “unconstitutional activities of this man”. “Purely political vendetta… condemn this arrest. I had to stand by Lokesh and Balakrishna because of YSRCP and Jagan.”

On Sunday Chandrababu Naidu was sent to judicial custody for two weeks. On Tuesday an anti-corruption court rejected a house custody plea by his wife after she cited security concerns.

READ | Chandrababu Naidu To Stay In Jail, Court Rejects Wife’s “Safety” Request

On Wednesday the Andhra Pradesh Police’s Crime Investigation Department underlined its belief Mr Naidu is the primary accused in this case; he had initially been listed as Accused Number 37.

READ | Andhra Skill Development Corp Set Up By Flouting Rules: Investigators

The case pertains to setting up of clusters of centres of excellence (CoE) in the state with the total estimate of the project valued at Rs 3,300 crore, but this allegedly ended up causing a loss of over Rs 300 crore to the state. The CID believes that before any expenditure by private entities, the then government provided an advance of Rs 371 crores – the government’s full 10 per cent commitment.

READ | The Rs 371-Crore Scam That Led To Chandrababu Naidu’s Arrest: Explained

Investigations have led to the conclusion, prime facie, that Mr Naidu, then the head of the government and its highest executive, orchestrated the entire scheme, the CID said.