GUNTUR: The Election Commission has made a former mayor and 13 corporators of the previous municipal corporation, and 142 other contestants ineligible to contest any election for the next three years for failure to submit statements of expenditure incurred during their election campaign in the 2005 elections to the Guntur municipal corporation.
The election commission had issued orders to this effect four days ago.
The list of ineligibles include former mayor Kanna Nagaraju, who is the son of minister for transport Kanna Lakshminarayana. The 13 corporators including Nagaraju were part of the last council whose term expired at the end of 2010.
According to the Election commission, all contestants, losers as well as winners, must file statements of their expenses with the Election Commission after the election but the former mayor and 13 corporatros and 142 other contestants have failed to file their expenses till now in spite of several reminders by the commission.
The commission took the decision under the provisions of the Hyderabad Municipal corporation Act 1955 and Article 243 and Article 243 (V) of the Constitution. The commission has declared these candidates as ineligible to contest in any election _ local body, Assembly and Parliament.
According to a senior official in the corporation, the leaders, made ineligible now, will not be able to move court against the Election Commission’s decision.
One affected former corporator told Express that their advisers and lawyers had misled them on the matter. Meanwhile, the Election Commission’s announcement has spoiled the plans of many at a time when the local body elections are a couple of months away. While one group of the Congress hails the development, another has been dispirited. To those those aspiring to contest the next election, it has poured cold water on their plans.
Some aspirants, not willing to remain on the sidelines for 3 years, are preparing to prop up their spouses and children as candidates.