VIJAYAWADA: Elections to Andhra Pradesh Bar Council will be held for the first time after State bifurcation on June 29. The elections, which are to be held every five years, are being held after a gap of six years. Though the elections were slated to be held in August 2017, they got postponed due to some technical reasons and administrative concerns. Later they were scheduled to be held on March 2018, but following Supreme Court directive, they got postponed for three months.
On Friday, as many as 27,600 advocates who got enrolled in 146 bar associations across Andhra Pradesh and are eligible to cast their vote will decide the fate of 107 candidates contesting for 25 seats in Andhra Pradesh Bar Council. According to sources, all necessary arrangements have been made for the Bar Council elections, which will be held at the respective bar association offices. High Court Judge Justice P Keshava Rao will oversee the elections in Andhra Pradesh. Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh secretary N Renuka asked the voters not to carry mobile phones into the polling booth.
Bezawada Bar Association general secretary Dodla Lakshman Rao said the election will be in a preferential voting pattern on the lines of Rajya Sabha elections. “There will be a total 107 names on the ballot paper and we will select 25 candidates on our preference,” he explained.
The counting for the elections and declaration of results is expected to be either in July or in August. From Vijayawada, which has been the base camp for the construction of the capital city Amaravati, a total 13 candidates are contesting and 2,129 advocates will be casting their votes. Ch Ajay Kumar, V Srinivas Rao, Sunkara Rajendra Prasad, BV Ranga Rao, S Malleswara Rao, G Satish Babu are some of the contesting candidates from Vijayawada.