BJP releases first list with 123 candidates

Vijayawada: The Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on Sunday announced the names of party candidates for 123 Assembly constituencies. The BJP Central Election Committee met under the leadership of party national president Amit Shah and finalised the names of nominees for 123 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Last time, the BJP had an alliance with the TDP and won from four Assembly segments. Akula Satyanarayana won from Rajamahendravaram Rural, P Vishnukumar Raju won from Visakhapatnam North, P Manikyala Rao was elected from Tadepalligudem and Kamineni Srinivas won from Kaikalur.

Akula Satyanarayana joined the Jana Sena recently. Dr Kamineni Srinivas has already announced that he would not contest the polls. Vishnumumar Raju has now been renominated from Visakhapatnam North. The name of P Manikyala Rao is not found in the first list. So is the case with party state chief Kanna Lakshminarayana, who is said to be seeking Lok Sabha ticket from Narsaraopet.

The BJP in 2014 had contested from five other constituencies as part of the alliance and its candidates were defeated in these segments. The BJP candidates lost in Madanapalle, Kodumuru, Nellore rural, Narasaraopet and Vijayawada West Assembly segments.

Now, the BJP is fighting the elections alone in Andhra Pradesh. The rift between the BJP and TDP widened and the two parties are engaged in allegations and counter allegations on corruption, misrule and other subjects for more than year. In this backdrop, the BJP on Sunday announced the names of the candidates for 123 Assembly segments. Most of the segments are located in coastal districts.