VIJAYAWADA: Mayor aspirants will have to wait till the last minute to know whether they were picked up for the coveted post or not. The YSRC, which swept the recently concluded elections to urban local bodies in the State, has been on the job of picking up the mayors and deputy mayors for municipal corporations and chairperson and deputy chairpersons for municipalities.
“We will announce the candidates on Thursday. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has been discussing with the party members right from the district level on the selection of candidates and assured that BCs and SCs would be given top priority in the posts as part of political empowerment,’’ YSRC general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said. Meanwhile, the selection of candidates is likely to spring a surprise for some and heartburn for many others. Sources in the party said women and members belonging to BC and SC communities will be picked up in major municipal corporations.
In Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC), though senior leader Bandi Punyaseela pinned hopes on the Mayoral post, she was denied the same. She along with P Goutam Reddy’s daughter Likitha Reddy were in the race initially. However, with Likitha Reddy losing the election, Punyaseela was the frontrunner for the post. However, the party picked up R Bhagyalakshmi at the last minute. It is said that Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao wanted the post to his follower Bhagyalakshmi and he was able to convince the party leadership to give her a chance. Though the VMC mayor post is reserved for women (general), the party chose a BC corporator as the Mayor. The two deputy Mayors will be selected from the divisions representing Vijayawada East and Central constituencies as Bhagyalakshmi represents a division from Vijayawada West.
In Guntur Municipal Corporation, the party is likely to give the mayor post to Kavati Manohar Naidu, but he is likely to be replaced by another leader Ramesh Gandhi after two-and-a-half years.In Visakhapatnam, where the YSRC city president Vamsi Krishna was reportedly assured of the mayor post for sacrificing Assembly ticket, the party might spring a surprise by choosing G Hari Venkata Kumari from Yadava community.
No surprise in Kurnool, Kadapa corporations?
There might not be much surprise in Kurnool and Kadapa Municipal Corporations with the party likely to go with its senior leaders BY Ramaiah and K Suresh Babu respectively as its Mayoral candidates. In Anantapur, the party would give a chance to a corporator from the Muslim community, district in-charge minister Botcha Satyanarayana said.