Amaravati, Aug 21 : Senior leader of YSR Congress Party and former minister Botsa Satyanarayana, on Wednesday, took oath as a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council.

Council Chairman K. Moshenu Raju administered the oath to Satyanarayana at his chambers in the Council building.

Before taking the oath, the former minister met YSR Congress Party chief Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who congratulated him on his victory as MLC.

Satyanarayana, who was unanimously elected from the United Visakhapatnam Local Bodies constituency, called on Jagan Mohan Reddy at his camp office in Tadepalli and expressed gratitude.

YSRCP leaders including MLC Kumbha Ravibabu, MLAs R. Matsyalingam, Vishweshwar Raju, Visakhapatnam ZP Chairman Jalli Subhadra, former ministers Kurasala Kannababu, Gudivada Amarnath, Budi Mutyala Naidu, Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, and Karumuri Nageswara Rao were present.

Botsa Satyanarayana was declared elected without contest on Friday as the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) did not field its candidate.

As YSRCP had more than 530 votes out of the total 836 votes in the combined Visakhapatnam district (including Anakapalli and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts), the TDP and its allies Jana Sena and BJP decided to stay away from the contest.

An independent candidate Sheikh Shafiullah, who had filed his nomination, withdrew from the contest, paving the way for the unanimous election of the former minister.

The byelection was scheduled for August 30 to fill the vacancy arising out of the disqualification of Chennuboina Srinivasa Rao.

Srinivasa Rao, whose real name is Vamsi Krishna Yadav, was disqualified as MLC by the Council Chairman in March under the anti-defection law after he quit YSRCP to join Jana Sena Party.

Srinivasa Rao was elected to the Assembly on Jana Sena ticket from Visakhapatnam South constituency in the May 13 elections.

Satynarayana will remain MLC for three years.

One of the senior most leaders of YSRCP, Botsa Satyanarayana served as the minister for municipal administration and urban development, and human resources development in the previous YSRCP government headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy.

In the recent Assembly elections, Satyanarayana suffered defeat from the Cheepurupalli constituency in Vizianagaram district at the hands of Telugu Desam Party's K. Kalavenkata Rao.

A senior politician from north Andhra region, he was thrice elected from Cheepurupalli constituency and served as a minister in the Congress governments in united Andhra Pradesh between 2004 and 2014. He also headed the Congress party in the undivided state.

Satyanarayana was also elected to Lok Sabha from Bobbili constituency in 1999.

After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, he joined YSR Congress Party in 2015.

/IANS