Hyderabad: Chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) on Monday handed over the ‘B’ form to Surabhi Vani Devi, daughter of former Congress Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao (PVNR), to contest from the Graduates constituency in the upcoming MLC elections to be held in March.
While Devi’s candidature came as a surprise for some, political analysts had predicted this move by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) supremo last year itself, when the TRS-run state government had announced a year-long birth centenary celebration of PVNR last year in August
KCR had announced Devi’s candidature for the upcoming polls to the Telangana Legislative Council from a day earlier on February 21. Moreover, it may be recalled that KCR’s daughter (ex-member of Parliament) and MLA K. Kavitha also demanded that PVNR be conferred with the Bharat Ratna award.
Earlier, speculations were rife in political circles that KCR was planning to nominate Vani Devi as the MLC candidate under the Governor’s quota and. However, her name was not included in the list of three nominees that was announced on November 13 last year.
Prior to her candidature, it was believed that the TRS would support independent candidate Prof. K. Nageshwar. However, with this surprise, move, it is believed that the TRS is also a shrewd move because she is a well-known artist and educationist.
She is also the founder and principal of the Sri Venkateshwara Group of Institutions, which runs fine arts, pharmacy colleges and a model school in Hyderabad. As only graduates are eligible to vote in the upcoming MLC elections, the ruling TRS is hoping to educated voters and also show their support to PVNR’s legacy through Vani Devi.
Vani Devi completed her graduation from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in 1986. In 2016, the Telangana government honoured her by conferring her with the International Women’s Achievement Award.