KVV Satyanarayan Raju: Will withdraw if Centre promises to keep AP united

Hyderabad: Soft spoken Dr K.V.V. Satyanarayana Raju, MLC and Rajya Sabha candidate is confident that he will sail through the elections in the name of Samaikhyandhra.

“My goal is Samaikhyandhra. If the Centre announces that the state will remain  united, I will withdraw from the fray,”?said Raju of the well known  Chaitanya educational institutions after filing his papers for the Rajya Sabha elections.

Despite no Congress leader by his side in the Assembly after filing of nomination, Raju asserted he would win.

“I have sufficient backing of legislators,” he claimed. He is one amongst eight aspirants for six seats including another rebel Adala Prabhakar Reddy.

However, some ministers and MLAs who reportedly signed the nomination papers of rebels like Raju stoutly denied it.

“I did not sign in support of any candidate other than the party nominee. I am in the Congress and will support only Congress nominees as long as I am in the party. We will not vote against the party nominee,” T.G. Venkatesh remarked.

Adding, “If Congress ignores our demand (Samaikhyandhra), we will quit the party.”

He warned that if anyone uses his name without his consent he will initiate criminal action against them.

However, law minister Erasu Pratap Reddy and infrastructure minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao said they supported the candidature of Chaitanya Raju.