Days of speculation over who would be Lok Sabha candidate for the YSR Congress from Vijayawada in the coming general election are finally over. Founder-chairman and chief mentor of Trimex group Koneru Rajendra Prasad, who was formally inducted into the party in Hyderabad on Sunday, has been given the ticket.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Mr. Prasad confirmed that YSRC president Jaganmohan Reddy had given him the nod.
A first-time politician, Mr. Prasad claimed that he was a native of Vijayawada and was well versed in the political climate of Krishna district. “It’s like homecoming for me. I left the city in 1973 on professional and business pursuits but never lost track of this place. Both my father and my grandfather served as doctors in this city,” he said.
On poll strategy and alliance, he said, “I am just a day old in politics, but will chalk out a detailed plan in a couple of days. We shall also prepare a blueprint for the development of Vijayawada.”
Mr. Prasad, who has business interests spread across the State, Tamil Nadu and abroad, has a plant in Srikakulam that processes garnet from sand. He said he runs a trust by name Koneru Prasad Trust that runs a free health clinic and dialysis centre in Srikakulam.
Asked why he had chosen Vijayawada when all his business and philanthropic interest lie near Srikakulam, he said, “We have proposals to start similar things here also and have already begun by setting up a clinic in the One Town area.”
Considered a close confidante of Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy, he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation along with Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy in November 2011 in connection with the high-profile case of Emaar Properties, Hyderabad. On the case, he said that it was in the Supreme Court and exuded confidence that he would come out clean. YSRC Vijayawada city convenor Jaleel Khan was present.
