VIJAYAWADA: On a day when the new State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nilam Sawhney issued a notification for MPTC/ZPTC polls, the Opposition TDP leaders said the party may boycott the elections as its demand for fresh notification was rejected. The TDP decided to reiterate its demand for a new notification at the meeting called by the SEC on Friday.
“The stand of the TDP as well as all the remaining opposition parties is that a fresh notification should be issued for MPTC/ZPTC elections. We will raise the same demand and if the SEC turns down our appeal and goes ahead with resuming the election process where it was left, we will decide our future course of action,’’ a senior TDP leader told TNIE, indicating that the party may move court or boycott the elections.
As the by-election for Tirupati Lok Sabha seat is scheduled to be held on April 17 and the elections for the MPTC/ZPTCs will be held before that, there is a possibility of the results impacting the bypoll. “If the TDP performs poorly in the MPTC/ZPTC elections, it may hamper our prospects in the by-election,” another TDP leader said and added that boycotting the elections is the better option.“In the meantime, several TDP candidates have joined the YSRC,” he pointed out.
However, as the final list of candidates was published about a year ago, the TDP candidates will remain in the fray as they cannot withdraw their nomination even if the party decides to boycott the polls. Meanwhile, TDP politburo member Varla Ramaiah called on SEC Nilam Sawhney on Thursday and urged her to issue a fresh notification for the MPTC/ZPTC elections. Accusing the YSRC of making a mockery of democracy by making 24% MPTCs and 19% ZPTCs unanimous by misusing power, he said that former SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar informed the same to the Union Home Secretary in a letter.