Suresh Prabhu, Srujana, Venkatesh have TDP backing

The ruling TDP in Andhra Pradesh has almost finalised the nominations of Srujana Chowdary and T.G. Venkatesh for the Rajya Sabha elections on June 11. With the third possible seat for the TDP being allotted for BJP nominee, the TDP candidature has been reduced to two nominees. Chief Minister and TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu was involved in the exercise of finalising the nominees with top leaders since this morning. The discussions resulted in putting the names of Srujana and Venkatesh at the top of the list. As Union Minister for Science and Technology, Srujana nomination was a foregone conclusion. But Venkatesh, industrialist and financier, is somewhat of a surprise choice. Former minister, he was with the Congress all along. After joining the TDP, he did not get any position. The third seat is going to be reserved for Suresh Prabhu by the BJP leadership. His nomination would be good for Andhra Pradesh because as Railway Minister he could allot a railway zone for Visakhapatnam, which is a major demand of AP. Chandrababu appears to have approved of Suresh Prabhu's nomination for the third seat. The fourth seat in the State is going to YCP's Vijay Sai Reddy according to the respective strength of the party in the assembly.