NRIs evince interest in AP politics

••Pins hopes on State development, Amaravati capital construction 

••An interaction of NRIs with Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday

Patibandla Srinivas 

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Amaravati: The Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are evincing interest in AP politics. They pin hopes on the future of the State and also the development of Andhra Pradesh. Though they are an elite section of people from different walks of life and from different continents, interestingly sizeable number of USA-based doctors, engineers, and business people are showing interest in state politics. They are well settled financially in their professional life but they want to spend time for the State development. A group of NRIs will be interacting with TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and general secretary Nara Lokesh on Tuesday.

Already several NRIs got tickets and actively made plans to fight against the opponents. The demand from NRIs is high for contesting on the Opposition TDP ticket while some NRIs are also testing their luck from ruling YSR Congress. Some NRIs are actively extending their support to the respective parties from outside the election ring. They are giving all possible support to the parties.

Pemmasani Chandrasekhar, a physician in America, is contesting from Guntur Lok Sabha. He tried to contest from Narasaraopet in the past also. The family members of Chandrasekhar have been strong supporters of the TDP since his childhood.

Even though he is well settled in his field in the United States he shifted his focus to politics. Similarly, Venigandla Ramu is also in the election battle for Gudivada Assembly segment on the TDP ticket, retiring from his role in business operations in America.   

Mannava Mohan Krishna, former NAATS president, actively took part in TDP activities in Guntur West constituency for the last five years. Present TANA president S Niranjan, former presidents Vemana Satish, Komati Jayaram were also aspirants. Komati Jayaram is playing the coordinator role in the TDP United States of America wing.  Previously P Radhakrishna was elected from Tanuku assembly and now he is still in the election race. US-based Vasamsetty Satya contested on a TDP ticket for Lok Sabha. Of course, Nara Lokesh also completed his studies at Stanford and worked some time at the World Bank. He entered politics as a successor to former Chief Minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu.

Likewise, USA-returned Vemuru Ravi Kumar has also been extending his support to Telugu Desam party for the last decade. He returned to his motherland to pay back to society using his own hard-earned money and knowledge. Even though he is a doctor he started several start-up businesses to create employment for youth, particularly in the jobless state of Andhra Pradesh. Previously he worked as an advisor to the state government and made plans to construct 33-storied iconic building in Amaravati’s capital as an identity for NRIs across the globe. He was chairman of Non-Resident Telugus (NRT) in the previous government which was started with a view to extending services exclusively for NRIs. Apart from this, K Seshu Babu, who worked with Elon Musk , K Butchi Ram Prasad and A Radha Krishna also joined hands with Dr Ravi to promote NRI service-oriented operations. 

Vidudala Rajani, who returned from America contested in the last elections on YSR Congress ticket and became a member of the state cabinet. Now she is again contesting for Assembly from Guntur as YSRCP candidate. Recently YS Jagan Mohan Reddy conducted a meeting with the NRIs to encourage their participation. Former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu gives utmost priority to the NRIs.

Apart from this, thousands of NRIs are actively taking part in the election-related work in their respective constituencies, especially for the support of TDP. Now their support is raising hopes for the state’s development, including Amaravati as capital. They may invest in the state surroundings and start several business operations which can create employment, said Kavuru Prasad who is a Gudiwada.