K Ratna Prabha, former chief secretary of Karnataka, has been chosen as the BJP candidate for the upcoming by-election to Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency (Reserved) slated to be held on April 17.

A native of Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, she is a 1981 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, who retired from service in March 2018. After retirement, she joined the BJP.

The Tirupati seat fell vacant last year following the death of sitting MP, Balli Durga Prasad, who died of heart attack while recovering from Covid-19 last September.

Ratna Prabha, worked in various capacities in Andhra Pradesh, even though she was a Karnataka cadre officer.

The BJP is seeking to contest the by-election in league with Pawan Kalyan-headed Jana Sena Party. She will contest against Gurumurthy, who was recently chosen as YSRCP candidate and former Union minister Panabaka Lakshmi of the Congress party. Gurumurthy served as Jagan’s personal physio during the long Padayatra ahead of general elections 2019.

BJP leader Sunil Deodhar tweeted about her selection as the BJP candidate. Somu Veerraju, BJP President in AP, stated that she will be an ideal candidate with her long administrative career as a bureaucrat.

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