But good ranking on the Party List imperative
Venkat Raman
Auckland, June 20, 2020
The National Party has done well in choosing Bala (Venugopal) Beeram as its candidate to contest in General Election 2020 (Saturday, September 19, 2020) but whether it would do better in terms of ranking him on their List remains to be seen.
For, Kelston belongs to Labour and with Carmel Sepuloni being the candidate would make it almost impossible for Mr Beeram to win through electoral votes.
His passion for community service and the energy to engage with people have helped National over the past three years to enhance its image in the electorate.
Mr Beeram helped National to get 10456 Party votes, slightly more than Chris Penk did as the candidate in this Constituency in 2014 (9924 votes).
Since 2017, he has interacted well with all the communities in Kelston and relates well to their aspirations, issues and challenges.
The issue therefore is ranking. National Party should reward him with a winnable position on its List for General Election 2020.
About the Candidate
Bala Beeram is from the Telugu-speaking community of the South Indian State of Telangana which was once a part of Andhra Pradesh. A resident and citizen since the past 21 years, he understands the Nation, its people and its future; and over the past few years, the policies and programmes of the National Party.
Born and raised in a family of farmers, he obtained his postgraduate (MSc) qualification in Chemistry from Bhopal University in Central India. He worked as a Chemistry teacher at a secondary school.
Migrating to New Zealand in 1999, Mr Beeram became an active member of the New Zealand Telugu Association and became its Executive Committee Member and its President.
He was among the main organisers of the first Indian Newslink Festivals of South India held in 2019 and works closely with the New Zealand Telugu Association and Telangana Association of New Zealand. Among the programmes with which he has been involved is Tree Plantation, Blood Donation, Badminton Tournament and fundraisers.
He is seen at events organised by various associations in the greater Auckland region, Hamilton and beyond.
A Supervisor at a Food and Pharmaceutical testing company, Mr Beeram spends almost all his after-hours in serving the communities in Kelston and beyond.
Vibrant electorate
“Kelston is a vibrant and diverse part of Auckland, filled with so many hard working families who are trying to get ahead. With a serious economic crisis looming ahead, Kelston needs a National government with the experience and knowhow to put jobs back into our economy and guide our community through,” he said.
Mr Beeram said that he would campaign hard and get out and about the Kelston electorate.
“I will be focused on the issues that Kelston is facing, and ensuring that we see change this Election, because Kelston cannot afford another Labour Government, not in these times,” he said.
