Telugu Desam Party’s Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, who is the richest candidate to win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has been named in the new Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led cabinet.
Chandrababu Naidu’s party colleague won from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur constituency and has assets worth Rs 5,700 crore.
He defeated his nearest rival, YSRCP’s Kilari Venkata Rosaiah, by over 3.4 lakh votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
ALSO READ | “Why Focus On Money? Elections Are Expensive”: Country’s Richest Candidate
According to TDP leader Jayadev Galla, Mr Pemmasani will be named the Minister of State in the Modi 3.0 cabinet, which is set to take oath at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday evening.
Congratulations to Dr. @PemmasaniOnX on being confirmed as a Minister of State. Such an honour to serve the nation at the central level during your very first political stint. The people of Guntur and entire AP are proud of you. All the best for your new role. May you bring… pic.twitter.com/NAvPMViMLc
— Jay Galla (@JayGalla) June 9, 2024
He is expected to take oath alongside Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, another TDP MP who is set to become the youngest-ever Union Cabinet Minister.
Who Is TDP MP Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani?
- Born in Burripalem village in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani completed his MBBS from Osmania University and his residency at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania. He has worked at Johns Hopkins University-Sinai Hospital for about five years as an attending physician, where he taught residents and medical students.
- The 48-year-old politician, who is the founder and CEO of UWorld, an online learning platform, has been an active leader in the TDP NRI cell and organised party programmes during his time in the US.
- Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani won the Ernst and Young Award as a young entrepreneur in 2020 in the US. He also founded the Pemmasani Foundation, which conducts health camps and provides drinking water to villages in Guntur and Narasaraopet.
- In the Guntur Lok Sabha seat, he replaced the two-time parliamentarian Jayadev Galla, who quit politics in January 2024.
- According to poll affidavits analysed by the Association of Democratic Reforms, Mr Pemmasani had the highest assets among the 8,360 candidates who contested the 2024 general elections,