VISAKHAPATNAM: Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, which has been witnessing an agitation against the 100 per cent strategic disinvestment of RINL—its corporate entity—for the last 435 days, is gearing up for an election on Saturday. All major trade unions have stepped up their campaign to become the recognised union of the plant. While the campaigning will end on Thursday, polling will be held from 5 am to 4 pm on Saturday and counting of votes will be taken up the same day. A total of 10,435 voters will exercise their franchise.
As many as 19 unions are in the fray. However, it is likely to be a close call between CITU, AITUC and INTUC. While YSRC- affiliated YSRTUC is aligned with pro-Congress INTUC, the TDP’s TNTUC is in alliance with AITUC, the CPI’s trade union arm. There are over 3,000 young voters who are likely to tilt the fortune of the unions. As many as 1,995 people were recruited during expansion. Between 2010 and 2019 about 3,000 people were recruited. CITU won the elections last held in February 2018 . Elections could not be held in 2020 due to the Covid situation. The INTUC-led panel had won the election in 2016. Meanwhile, a section of the employees feels that the election is a government ploy to divert the attention of the people from its privatisation plan. However, others said they will regroup under the banner of Visakha Parirakshana Porata Committee soon after the election.