BJP's Andhra MP Bhupathi Raju slated to become Union Minister

Amaravati, June 9 : BJP's Andhra Pradesh MP Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma is likely to take oath as a Union Minister on Sunday evening.

Varma, who was elected from Narsapuram constituency, has reportedly received a communication to this effect from the Prime Minister’s Office.

He had defeated Umbala Guduri of the YSR Congress Party by a margin of over 2.76 lakh votes.

Videos of Varma's emotional reaction at the BJP’s parliamentary election office after he was named as BJP candidate from Narsapuram in March had gone viral. He was moved at the party honouring with the ticket after three decades of dedicated efforts.

He is one of the three BJP candidates elected from the state in the recent Lok Sabha elections. State BJP chief and former Union Minister Daggubati Purandheshwari and C.M. Ramesh were the other winners and also contenders for Cabinet berths.

Purandheshwari, the daughter of TDP chief and former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao and sister-in-law of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, was elected from Rajahmundry while Ramesh won the Anakapalle seat.

Purandheshwari quit the Congress to join the BJP in 2014 while Ramesh crossed over to it from the TDP in 2019.

The BJP won three out of six Lok Sabha seats it contested in Andhra Pradesh in alliance with the TDP and Jana Sena Party led by actor-politician Pawan Kalyan, while The TDP-led alliance won 21 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The TDP alone bagged 16 seats while Jana Sena won both the seats it contested.

Varma will be the third Union Minister from Andhra Pradesh. The TDP’s K. Ram Mohan Naidu and Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar will also be taking oath on Sunday evening.