22 YSRCP candidates declared unanimous for MCT, 37 for Chittoor

Tirupati: First time in the history of civic body elections in Chittoor district, a big chunk of candidates contested in the corporation elections to the two municipal corporations including Tirupati and Chittoor have been elected unopposed. According to reliable sources, in Tirupati as many as 22 ruling YSRCP party candidates were elected unopposed after the second and last day of withdrawal of nominations on Tuesday.

This included 21 Divisions where all the rival candidates were withdrawn leaving only the YSRCP in the contest and in Division No 21 where a TDP candidate refiled his nomination following the SEC approving his petition for filing nomination again on the ground that he was prevented from filing the papers last year in March but is going to face rejection following the High Court order setting aside the SEC allowing refiling of nominations.

However, the last day of withdrawal of nomination witnessed ugly scenes in which the ruling YSRCP activists and BJP workers clashed with each other at the office of the Returning Officer (RO) here.

BJP activists including city leaders Samanchi Srinivas, Bhanuprakash Reddy and Ajay Kumar alleged that the officials tried to reject the nominations of two BJP candidates contesting in 42 and 26 division of the corporation and successfully prevented the filing of letter for withdrawal of nominations which the BJP leaders said were forged. The fracas between the two political groups went on for more than an hour resulting in the officials at last not considering the withdrawals of BJP candidates in the two divisions.

Police had a tough time in controlling the two warring groups which jostled and pushed each other, shouting slogans and counter slogan renting the air adding more to the tension prevailed for nearly two hours in the election office at Old Municipal Office and at Ward Secretariat in Khadi colony.

The picture became clear after the withdrawal that there will be contest in 28 divisions leaving 22 divisions to YSRCP candidates elected unopposed.

The TDP city president Dampuri Bhaskar Yadav said 22 TDP candidates are in the field for the corporation election and alleged that the manipulations, luring, pressures and intimidation of ruling party leaders prevented the party candidates contesting in all 50 divisions. It may be noted here that CPM is contesting in five and supporting an independent while the BJP in 9 divisions.