BJP to contest Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll

Amaravati: It's now official. The BJP has decided to contest the by-election for Tirupati Lok Sabha seat which fell vacant due to the death of YSR Congress MP Balli Durga Prasad Rao in September last.

The BJP's ally in Andhra Pradesh, Jana Sena, had expected the seat and Jana Sena president Pavan Kalyan had held series of negotiations with the BJP high command. However, the BJP has finally decided to contest the seat.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs and BJP Andhra Pradesh affairs in-charge V Muraleedharan and co-in charge Sunil Deodhar tweeted on Friday that a unanimous decision to have a Jana Sena-backed candidate in the fray was taken at a meeting attended by BJP State president Somu Veerraju and JSP president Pawan Kalyan.

In his message on Twitter, Muraleedharan said his party's victory march in Andhra Pradesh would begin from Tirupati and that it was time to put an end to the promotion of selfish interests of the YSR Congress Party and the TDP.

The BJP-JSP combine would expose the shady designs of the two regional satraps that undermined the beliefs of devotees, he stated, suggesting that they were allegedly involved in the attacks on Hindu temples.