Narasimha Rao's Daughter KCR's Pick For MLC Elections

TRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao yesterday announced that daughter of former prime minister late P V Narasimha Rao, Surabhi Vani Devi, would be representing the party in the upcoming MLC elections in the Hyderabad-Mahabunagar-Rangareddy graduates' constituency.

Vani Devi reportedly filed her nomination for the biennial elections, which will be held on March 14, today.

Before filing the nomination, Devi offered floral tributes to her late father at PV Ghat on Necklace Road. TRS Parliamentary Party head K Keshava Rao and Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav were among the party leaders who accompanied her.

Devi called on the CM at the Pragathi Bhavan, where she received the required B form.

During the meeting, KCR introduced her to various ministers, including Keshava Rao, Srinivas Yadav and Sabitha Indra Reddy, and asked the leaders to coordinate with her to help her win the upcoming elections.

Speaking to the media on the matter, Devi told the media that she would make sincere efforts to meet the KCR government's expectations in the field of education. She also expressed her gratitude to KCR for giving her the ticket for the MLC elections.

Meanwhile, Keshava Rao publicly endorsed the decision, saying that Devi was someone who would be able to serve the people of the state very well.

"As the daughter of former PM P V Narasimha Rao, Vani Devi is well-versed in many matters. She is a knowledgeable person. I believe she is, therefore, sufficiently equipped to serve our state," he said.

Srinivas Yadav also expressed his support for the candidate and said she would devote herself to the people of the state if she was voted into power.

"She has vast experience of running educational institutions. So everyone should recognise her expertise and support her. We must ensure her victory," Yadav added.

The decision to rope in Surabhi Vani Devi is a masterful stroke on the part of the CM. The TRS has consistently tried to honour the Congress veteran Narasimha Rao reportedly to capitalise on the electoral benefits of such acts - it has, many claim, always tried to use its emphasis on the preservation of the pride of Telangana and its commitment to honouring the state's most famous faces to its own advantage.

Ironically, it was the Congress that had always maintained its distance with the former PM's controversial legacy. However, since last year, the party has tried to highlight its linkages with Narasimha Rao as well.

The upcoming MLC elections in two of the state's graduates' constituencies have catalysed a flurry of activity within all the parties in Telangana. The TRS has chosen incumbent MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy to re-contest for the MLC post in the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda constituency.