Synopsis
Tollywood actors-turned-politicians Vijayashanthi and Naga Babu were elected unopposed as MLCs in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. A total of ten candidates were elected with no contest ahead of the elections scheduled for March 20.Key Takeaways
- Vijayashanthi and Naga Babu elected unopposed as MLCs.
- Election Commission confirmed unanimous elections.
- Both politicians have a history in Tollywood and politics.
- Only five nominations were received for five available seats.
- Naga Babu's election facilitates his entry into the State Cabinet.
Hyderabad, March 13 (NationPress) Tollywood actors-turned-politicians Vijayashanthi and Naga Babu were among ten candidates who were elected unopposed as Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Thursday.
Vijayashanthi, a leader from the Congress party and former MP, was one of five candidates unanimously chosen to represent the Telangana Assembly from the MLAs' quota.
Others elected to the Telangana Council without contest include Addanki Dayakar and Shankar Naik from the Congress party, Nellikanti Satyam from the Communist Party of India (CPI), and Dasoju Sravan Kumar of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
The Congress party holds 65 seats in the 119-member Assembly and has allocated one seat for its ally CPI, which has one MLA.
Only five nominations were submitted for the elections set for March 20.
The Election Commission confirmed their unanimous election after the withdrawal period for nominations concluded on Thursday.
Vijayashanthi, a seasoned actor, switched from the BJP to the Congress party shortly before the Assembly elections in 2023.
She began her political journey in 1997 with the BJP and established Talli Telangana in 2005 to advocate for statehood for Telangana.
Eventually, she merged Talli Telangana with TRS (now BRS) and was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Medak constituency in 2009.
She joined the Congress party in 2014 and returned to the BJP in 2020.
With a film career spanning nearly four decades, Vijayashanthi has featured in over 180 films across multiple languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi.
In Andhra Pradesh, Deputy Chief Minister and well-known actor Pawan Kalyan's brother, Nagendra Rao Konidela (popularly known as Naga Babu), was one of five candidates from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) elected unopposed to the Council.
Naga Babu was nominated as the candidate of Jana Sena, led by his younger brother Pawan Kalyan.
Kavali Greeshma Prasad, B. Tirumala Naidu, and Beeda Ravichandra of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), along with Somu Veerraju of the BJP, were also elected without contest.
The TDP, leading the ruling coalition, had reserved one seat each for its allies.
Given that only five nominations were received for five available seats, the Election Commission declared them elected.
Naga Babu's appointment to the Upper House paves the way for his entry into the State Cabinet.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced in December that Naga Babu would be included in the Cabinet.
Actor and producer Naga Babu serves as the General Secretary of Jana Sena and actively campaigned during last year's elections. He has been collaborating with Pawan Kalyan since the latter founded Jana Sena in 2014.
Previously, both worked for the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), established by their eldest brother and superstar Chiranjeevi in 2008, although the party faced defeat in the 2009 elections and merged with the Congress party two years later.
