After hectic confabulations and prolonged speculations, the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership on Thursday finalised the candidature of retired IAS officer and former chief secretary of Karnataka K Ratna Prabha for the ensuing by-elections to Tirupati parliamentary seat.
An announcement to this effect was made by the party leadership late in the evening, five days before the closure of nominations.
As many as 27 candidates had applied for the BJP ticket from Tirupati and the list was forwarded to the party national leadership.
After scrutinising all the applications, the party has finalised Ratna Prabha’s name.
There was also a talk that the BJP might field another retired IAS officer Dasari Srinivasulu, but Ratna Prabha was preferred after balancing the Mala-Madiga equations.
In fact, Ratna Prabha is already a BJP leader in Karnataka, whereas Dasari Srinivasulu has not officially joined the party, though he has been moving closely with the BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders.
Ratna Prabha, who originally hails from Prakasam district, worked on deputation in combined Andhra Pradesh for a few years during the regime of Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, but went back to Karnataka after the completion of deputation.
Her father Kathi Chandraiah, brother Pradeep Chandra and husband Vidyasagar also worked as IAS officers. After retirement, she was appointed as chairperson of Karnataka Skill Development Corporation.
The BJP national leadership has taken into consideration the educational and financial background of the candidates. Even on that count, Ratna Prabha stands better than the others, sources said.
