Visakhapatnam: SC stay order dampens spirit of contestants

Visakhapatnam: With the Supreme Court ordering stay on the conduct of local body polls in the state, it did come as a big disappointment for some political party leaders who have been waiting with bated breath to contest in the elections.

The new development took shape at a time when political parties were waiting for the schedule to be released for the ensuing local body elections followed by the issue of notification on Friday.

The SC imposed stay as there was a rise in the reservations to the tune of 59.85 per cent which is beyond 50 per cent and against established norms. Leader of Andhra Pradesh Reddy Association Pratap Reddy approached the SC and brought the reservations percentage to its notice. However, the Supreme Court issued orders to sort out the issue within four weeks.

In Visakhapatnam district, there are around 39 Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTC), 656 Mandal Praja Territorial Constituencies (MPTC). Close to 2,077 polling stations have already been set up by the district authorities for the ensuing local body polls wherein 17.28 lakh voters would exercise their franchise.

For those who aspire to come back to power contesting in the local body polls, the waiting seems to be longer. Some TDP leaders allege the YSRC is trying to put off the elections fearing that the ongoing Amaravati agitation would have an adverse impact on the YSRCP.

"With the ongoing agitation in Amaravati over the capital shift, 'all is not well' for YSRCP now. This apart, even the schemes rolled out by the State government are not reaching out to the beneficiaries. Keeping this in view, they (YSRCP) have deliberately increased the percentage of the reservations," pointed out Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy, former TDP MLA, Pendurthi constituency.

Echoing similar views, former ZP floor leader Reddy Narayana Rao said with the present situation, the YSRC was sure to lose in the elections. "To turn the tables to its favour, the government laid out a plan through increased reservations," he added.

Allaying fears, Anakapalle MLA Gudivada Amarnath told The Hans India that the idea of reservation is to accord importance to SC, ST and BC communities. "The YSRCP is keen on empowering the neglected sections and hence they were given importance in the reservations.

However, the total percentage will be brought down to 50 per cent from the existing 59.85 so that the stay will be lifted for conduct of local body elections. The YSRC is confident of winning in the local body polls as people are in favour of the government for apparent reasons," he confirmed.

Meanwhile, YSRC leader K K Raju said: "YSRCP is very strong in rural areas after the introduction of the village and ward secretariats and launch of various welfare schemes. There is no reason to fear as 'projected' by the Opposition to go for polls."