HYDERABAD: With the State Election Commission announcing the schedule for local body elections, major political parties — the Congress, BRS and BJP — have begun gearing up for the contest.
All three parties are holding mandal-level meetings to mobilise cadre, while aspirants for ZPTC, MPTC and panchayat seats have already started informal campaigning and are now seeking party tickets.
The Congress, being the ruling party, is expected to highlight the state government’s loan waiver, enhanced Rythu Bharosa payments, supply of superfine rice and the grounding of the Indiramma housing scheme. Party leaders maintain there is a “feel-good factor” among voters over Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s administration and claim most election promises have been fulfilled.
The BRS and BJP are likely to focus on what they describe as unfulfilled Congress guarantees, as well as issues such as urea shortage. The BJP also plans to showcase schemes introduced by the NDA government at the Centre.
BJP state president N Ramchander Rao told TNIE that the party was ready for the polls. “The Congress government has only enacted dramas in the name of BC reservations. Increasing BC quota could have been done through a GO, but they chose to pass bills and send them for approval. People now see BJP as an alternative to both the BRS and Congress, and we expect to win the maximum number of local bodies,” he said.
BRS working president
KT Rama Rao, addressing party workers at Telangana Bhavan on Monday, said his party was prepared from the “galli to Delhi” level. He predicted that the Congress government would face a defeat, claiming that people across the state had lost faith and were once again rallying behind K Chandrasekhar Rao’s leadership.
Next hearing is October 8
Amid the petitions challenging the GO 9, issued by the state government to enhance the reservations for BCs to 42 per cent in local bodies, pending before the high court and political parties welcoming the local bodies elections, there is uncertainty about the conduct of elections as the next hearing is October 8. So far, the high court has not stayed the GO and the government or State Election Commission has not given any undertaking to the high court, stating that they will not issue the poll schedule.
Speaking to TNIE, former Additional Advocate General A Satya Prasad, said that according to the Supreme Court’s earlier orders and judgments at any cost reservations cannot exceed 50 per cent, until and unless it is incorporated in Schedule 9 of the Constitution.
“Regarding the conduct of elections, we cannot clearly say anything. But, as the high court ordered to conduct polls earlier, we cannot anticipate what court will decide next. Whether court will interfere in the reservations issue is also a question, because conducting elections and enhancing the reservations are different matters as per legal issue,” he said.