VIJAYAWADA: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday issued notification to fill three of the 14 vacant posts in the Legislative Council in the State. Elections will be held on November 29 and the counting of votes will be held on the same day. A total of 14 seats are vacant in the Council and the ECI issued the notification to fill the three seats under the MLAs’ quota.
With a strength of 150 and the support of the lone Jana Sena Party MLA and almost four MLAs of the TDP already extending support to the YSRC, it is a cakewalk for the ruling party to bag the three seats.
Though the YSRC won 151 seats in the elections, the party’s Badvel MLA Dr G Venkatasubbaiah died of illness. The results of the Badevel by-election will come out November 2 and the YSRC is expected to win the seat. With this, the YSRC’s strength will once again go up to 151 in the 175-member Assembly.
The three seats fell vacant with the completion of tenure of Chinna Govinda Reddy Devasani (YSRC), BJP state chief Somu Veerraju and former chairman of the Council TDP’s Mohammed Ahmed Sharif on May 31. The elections to fill these seats, however, got delayed due to the Covid pandemic.
The YSRC is all set to secure a majority in the 58-member Council once the 14 MLC seats are elected. Apart from the three seats under the MLAs’ quota, the YSRC is also likely to bag 11 seats which would be elected by local body representatives as the ruling party has secured 80 per cent of these seats.
As of now, the ruling party has 12 MLCs, including 11 elected by MLAs and one from Graduates’ Constituency. It also has the support of six of the eight MLCs nominated by the Governor. If the YSRC bags all the 14 seats, its numbers will rise to 32, thereby getting a clear majority in the Council.
Meanwhile, the TDP may not contest the MLC election as it’s numbers in the Assembly have come down to less than 20. Though it won 23 seats, four of its MLAs have extended support to the ruling party and have distanced themselves from the party.
Election schedule