The process for the Lok Sabha elections in the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana started on Thursday, with the Election Commission of India issuing notification for the fourth phase of elections scheduled for May 13 and the commencement of nominations.
While Andhra Pradesh is going for simultaneous elections to the state assembly and Lok Sabha, Telangana which had its assembly elections on November 30, will face the general polls.
The last date for the receipt of nominations is April 25 and the scrutiny of nominations would be held the next day. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 29 and the polling would be held on May 13. The results would be declared, along with all the other phases, on June 4.
With the start of the nomination process, several prominent leaders of various political parties filed their papers since morning. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary and party president N Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh filed his nomination from Mangalagiri assembly constituency.
On behalf of Lokesh, leaders belonging to the TDP, Jana Sena Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party submitted two sets of nomination papers to Mangalagiri returning officer Rajkumari Gania. Thousands of party workers from the three NDA partners took out a procession from the party office to the Tadepalli municipal office where the nomination papers of Lokesh were filed at 2.34 pm.
{{/usCountry}}On behalf of Lokesh, leaders belonging to the TDP, Jana Sena Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party submitted two sets of nomination papers to Mangalagiri returning officer Rajkumari Gania. Thousands of party workers from the three NDA partners took out a procession from the party office to the Tadepalli municipal office where the nomination papers of Lokesh were filed at 2.34 pm.
{{/usCountry}}Sitting MP and TDP candidate Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy filed the nomination papers from the Ongole Lok Sabha constituency in Prakasam district. Similarly, BJP candidate for Vijayawada (West) assembly seat and former Union minister Y S Chowdary alias Sujana Chowdary also took out a rally with thousands of party workers belonging to three NDA partners and filed his nomination.
From YSR Congress party side, party candidate Butta Renuka for Yemmiganur seat in Kurnool district and Venkataiah Goud for Palamaneru assembly seat in Chittoor district filed their papers.
BJP state unit president and former Union minister Daggubati Purandeshwari will file her nomination papers for Rajahmundry Lok Sabha seat on Friday, a party statement said.
In Telangana, BJP state unit president G Kishan Reddy filed his papers for Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat amidst a lot of fanfare. So did party candidate for Malkajgiri seat Eatala Rajender and M Raghunandan Rao for Medak seat.
Similarly, BJP candidate for Nagarkurnool Lok Sabha seat P Bharat Prasad filed his nomination on Thursday evening. From the Congress side, PCC vice president Mallu Ravi also filed his nomination for the same seat.
BJP national vice-president and former minister D K Aruna filed her nomination for Mahabubnagar seat, while Congress candidates Neelam Madhu and Suresh Shetkar also filed their papers for Medak and Zaheerabad Lok Sabha seats.