Soon after the meeting of megastar Chiranjeevi with YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy at the latter’s Tadepalli residence on January 13 to discuss the issues concerning Telugu film industry, there were speculations in the media that Jagan had offered Rajya Sabha ticket to the megastar.
However, the speculations subsided as fast as they surfaced after Chiranjeevi himself brushed them aside as mere rumours.
He categorically declared that he was out of politics and so, nobody would offer him a Rajya Sabha ticket nor would he accept any such offer.
Now, the speculation over Rajya Sabha nomination has shifted from Chiranjeevi to another senior actor Manchu Mohan Babu, who is still active in politics. In fact, Mohan Babu had served as a Rajya Sabha member between 1995 and 2001.
Known for his family relations with Jagan, Mohan Babu joined the YSR Congress party three years ago and had even campaigned for the party in 2019 assembly elections.
Though he has been keeping away from the YSRC party activities, he has been making statements in support of the Jagan government on and off.
Though there were speculations that Mohan Babu might join the Bharatiya Janata Party after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his family in 2020, there was no such development and he continues to be friendly with Jagan.
So, the political analysts do not rule out the possibility of Mohan Babu being nominated to Rajya Sabha. However, nobody can read the mind of the YSRC chief and so, anything might happen between cup and lip.
In all, four Rajya Sabha seats are going to fall vacant in the next couple of months with the completion of term of three BJP members – Suresh Prabhu, Y S Chowdary (Sujana Chowdary) and T G Venkatesh, besides that of YSRC general secretary V Vijay Sai Reddy.
While the re-nomination of Sai Reddy is said to be more or less a foregone conclusion, Jagan will have to look for strong loyalists and capable hands to be nomination to the Rajya Sabha for the remaining three seats.
If there is any request from the BJP leadership as has happened in 2020 for re-nominating Suresh Prabhu or any other industrialist like Adani, then Jagan might have to consider him, sources said.
