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A Rajya Sabha vacancy from Andhra Pradesh remains to be filled while notification for its election has been announced and the final nomination date is April 29
Union Home Minister Amit Shah (L) and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu (R) during a meeting in March. (Image: @AndhraPradeshCM/PTI/File)
Upon his return from an overseas trip with family, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s meetings in Delhi will be of great significance. The most important visit will be the one with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday afternoon.
Not only is it expected that Naidu and Shah will speak about governance matters, considering the state of Andhra Pradesh, but politically, too, this is an important meeting.
A Rajya Sabha vacancy, announced a few months ago from the state after Vijay Sai Reddy resigned, remains to be filled. The notification for the election has been announced, for which the final nomination date is April 29.
Last time, there were two vacant seats in the Rajya Sabha after two MPs from the opposition, YSRCP, resigned. These two were claimed by the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP). The current vacancy may be under the BJP quota.
With the migration of K Annamalai from Tamil Nadu to the Centre, there is an indication that the BJP may give this Rajya Sabha seat to him. Numbers are clearly not an issue as far as winning the election from Andhra Pradesh is concerned, with the TDP-led NDA having more than the requisite numbers.
Also, there were widespread protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, both of which have significant Muslim populations. This has put the TDP and JD(U) in a situation where opposition MPs are constantly trying to corner them. Hence, Naidu could also have a discussion on how to counter the opposition during his meetings with the top leadership of the NDA.
Apart from a meeting with Shah, the Andhra Pradesh chief minister will also visit jal shakti minister CR Patil over the pending Polavaram project. He will also meet law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on matters concerning the state, especially drawing attention to the unfulfilled promises of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.
The TDP was a part of the alliance at the Centre from 2014 to 2018. One year before the Lok Sabha elections, Naidu snapped his alliance with the NDA over the unfulfilled promises of the AP Reorganisation Act. Just ahead of the 2024 general elections, he returned to the fold not only allying at the Centre but also running a coalition government in the state.