Andhra CM jubilant over victory in cooperative elections, clears decks for PR polls

19 February, 2013

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who has been facing credibility crisis following the party's downfall in the state, is now seen in an upbeat mood after the party's decisive victory in the cooperative polls. Decks are now being cleared to conduct Panchayat Raj (PR) polls.

He has succeeded in making his mark by registering a spectacular victory in the cooperative polls. Though Congress failed to register spectacular victory in the primary cooperative society’s polls, he has managed to register commendable success in the district cooperative polls.

Congress has won almost all the districts, except two, in the elections to the posts of directors of the district central cooperative banks (DCCB) and district cooperative marketing societies (DCMS) held on Monday across the state.

While the main opposition Telugu Desam Party has bagged Khammam district, the Y S R Congress Party, a break-away group of Congress, floated by former Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s son Y S Jaganmohan Reddy could limit itself to their native district Kadapah only. The TRS, which has strong presence in the Telangana region, drew a blank in the elections

However, elections were postponed in three districts, namely Guntur, Prakasam and Anantapur. Though in these polls farmers are only voters, who are mostly upper castes and were not held on party basis, Kiran Kumar Reddy has proved himself by bringing satisfactory success to the party, and he has shown that he is capable of manipulations.

On the same day, Kiran Kumar Reddy’s government also got greater relief with the Supreme Court clearing the decks for elections to the PR institutions in the state and an upbeat Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy wants to hold the polls at the earliest.

With state election commissioner P Ramakanth Reddy stating that his department is fully prepared, the PR polls, touted as an acid test for the chief minister as well as new entrant YS Jaganmohan Reddy, could be held as early as April this year. These polls are being delayed for more than a year on the issue of providing reservations to Backward Classes.

In its judgment on Monday, the SC bench of Justice P Sathasivam and Justice J S Khehar directed the state to conduct the polls on the basis of the existing 60.5% reservation for BCs (34%), SCs (18.25%) and STs (8.25%). Following a petition challenging the quota as exceeding the limit fixed by the apex court, the AP High Court had directed the state to hold PR polls by fixing 50% as upper limit of the quota for the BCs, SC-STs. Monday’s decision of the Supreme Court was on the basis of an appeal filed by the state government against the HC order.

Kiran Kumar Reddy’s optimism of the Congress putting up a good performance is based on the public assurance given by Union panchayati raj minister Kishore Chandra Deo in Delhi soon after the SC verdict on Monday that Rs 2,400 crore that was held up for the last two years for providing drinking water and sanitation in rural areas will be released as soon as the local bodies are put in place. “Assured of the funds, the CM can sway the voters in Congress’ favour by announcing several welfare schemes,” averred political analysts.

The term of the PR institutions, namely 1,094 Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) members, 14,591 Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency members (MPTC), and 21,843 sarpanches, ended in July 2011 and since then, they have been under the control of special officers in the absence of elected councils. The PR polls could not be held till now as the issue was pending in the court.