TRS announces the names of three Rajya Sabha candidates

Hetero Group chairman and managing director Bandi Parthasaradhi Reddy, businessman-turned-politician Vaddiraju Ravi Chandra (alias Gayatri Ravi) and Telangana Publications Private Limited chairman and managing director D Damodar Rao will be the TRS candidates for the three vacant Rajya Sabha seats from the State.

TRS President and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao finalised the names here on Wednesday, and handed over the B-forms to the candidates who called on him at Pragathi Bhavan. All three candidates will be filing their nominations in the next couple of days.

Parthasaradhi Reddy holds a doctoral degree with distinction in the field of Synthetic Chemistry. He played a key role in nurturing the Hetero Group in emerging as the largest closely held pharmaceutical company in India and also one of the world’s largest companies in production of anti-retroviral drugs.

Vaddiraju Ravichandra, also known as Gayatri Ravi, is a TRS leader and Telangana Granite Quarry Owners Association president. He is a native of Inugurthy village in Kesamudram mandal in Mahabubabad district and is settled in Khammam. He is also the honorary president of Telangana Munnuru Kapu All Association JAC and National union of Backward Castes. He joined the TRS in April 2019



after unsuccessfully contesting on a Congress ticket from Warangal East Assembly constituency in 2018.

D Damodar Rao is a law graduate and has served the TRS as its member in various capacities since its launch. He worked as the party executive committee member and also as the party secretary (finance). He was closely associated with K Chandrashekhar Rao. He went on to establish Telangana’s mouthpiece T News channel during the statehood movement and also Namasthe Telangana newspaper. He is currently the chairman and managing director of Telangana Publications Private Limited which publishes Namasthe Telangana and Telangana Today newspapers in the State.

The Election Commission of India had recently issued two separate notifications to three Rajya Sabha seats in Telangana. While one seat fell vacant following the resignation of Banda Prakash who was elected to the Telangana State Legislative Council, two seats will fall vacant next month after the term of sitting Rajya Sabha members Captain V Lakshmikantha Rao and D Srinivas expires. While Parthasaradhi Reddy and Damodar Rao are believed to replace Lakshmikantha Rao and D Srinivas, Ravi Chandra is said to have been nominated to replace Banda Prakash as Rajya Sabha member.