Amaravati, Aug 2
Opposition YSR Congress Party on Friday named former minister Botsa Satyanarayana as the MLC candidate for the by-election to United Visakhapatnam District Local Bodies constituency.

YSR Congress Party president and former chief minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy announced Botsa Satyanarayana as the party's candidate for the local bodies MLC (Member of Legislative Council) by-election.

Jagan Mohan Reddy consulted the party's district leaders to gather their opinions on potential candidates and finalised the candidature of Botsa Satyanarayana.

The by-election to the MLC seat is scheduled to be held on August 30 to fill the vacancy arising out of the disqualification of Chennuboina Srinivasa Rao.

Srinivasa Rao, whose real name is Vamsi Krishna Yadav, was disqualified as MLC by the Council Chairman in March under the anti-defection law after he quit YSRCP to join the Jana Sena Party.

Srinivasa Rao was elected to the Assembly on Jana Sena ticket from Visakhapatnam South constituency in the May 13 elections.

One of the senior most leaders of YSRCP, Botsa Satyanarayana served as the minister for municipal administration and urban development and human resources development in the previous YSRCP government headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy.

In the recent Assembly elections, Satyanarayana suffered defeat from the Cheepurupalli constituency in Vizianagaram district at the hands of Telugu Desam Party’s K. Kalavenkata Rao.

A senior politician from north Andhra region, he was thrice elected from Cheepurupalli constituency and served as a minister in the Congress governments in united Andhra Pradesh between 2004 and 2014. He also headed the Congress party in the undivided state.

Satyanarayana was also elected to Lok Sabha from Bobbili constituency in 1999.

After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, he joined the YSR Congress Party in 2015.

YSRCP names Botsa Satyanarayana as candidate for MLC by-election