Congress finalizes 115 Assembly and 5 Lok Sabha candidates for Andhra Pradesh

The Congress has finalized candidates for 115 Assembly and five Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh during a meeting held in Delhi on Monday. The list is likely to be released on Tuesday, with remaining candidates to be announced in a week. Elections are scheduled on May 13.

Y. S. Sharmila Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president, mentioned that she may contest from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency. Gidugu Rudraraju is likely to contest from Rajamahendravaram, while Pallam Raju and J. D. Seelam are potential candidates for Kakinada and Bapatla Lok Sabha seats.

In efforts to revive party prospects after previous election losses, Sharmila was appointed as the state unit president in January. She demanded immediate disbursal of social security pensions and criticized the alleged government conspiracy to delay payments intentionally for political gain.

Sharmila stated that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has accused opposition parties of stalling pension payments. Despite a promise from the Chief Secretary that disbursement will start on April 3, Sharmila raised concerns over the potential delay benefiting the ruling party and urged for immediate payment through DBT to avoid protests.