AP Mayor Seats: TDP, Jana Sena, BJP Plan for Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada & Tirupati?
The stage is being set for the local body elections in Andhra Pradesh. The Andhra Pradesh High Court recently struck down the government orders providing 34 per cent reservations for BCs. Soon after, the government approached the Supreme Court on the same issue. However, official sources believe that the government is unlikely to get much relief there either. They feel that this is being done mainly to politically convey and demonstrate that they are sincere about providing reservations to BCs, and that relief is unlikely even in the Supreme Court. A senior IAS officer revealed that the Supreme Court is certain to dismiss the petition at the admission stage and that there are greater chances of it upholding the High Court verdict. Even though the courts have struck down the reservations, the TDP has decided to implement them at the party level. TDP chief and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been stating the same. It is known that TDP, Jana Sena and BJP are partners in the present coalition government.
The three parties are also expected to move forward together in the local body elections. However, the question of which party will get the mayoral posts of the three most important cities in Andhra Pradesh — Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati — has become crucial. According to highly reliable sources, the TDP has decided to contest for the Visakhapatnam mayoral post. It is said that TDP national general secretary and Minister Nara Lokesh has decided not to back down on this issue despite any pressure. This is because Nara Lokesh and his team have been paying special attention to Visakhapatnam ever since coming to power. With the TDP deciding to contest the Visakhapatnam mayoral election, key TDP leaders have revealed that there is a possibility of allocating the Vijayawada mayoral seat, another key city, to Jana Sena, a major partner in the coalition. As part of this, it is being said that Vangaveeti Radha Krishna, son of Vangaveeti Ranga, may be fielded by Jana Sena for the mayoral post. Recently, Radha met Jana Sena chief and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan.
Reliable sources said that there is a possibility of allocating the mayoral seat of another key city in Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati, to BJP, another coalition partner. Although BJP is also seeking the Visakhapatnam mayoral seat, TDP sources believe that this is not likely to happen. It is said that a preliminary understanding has already been reached regarding these three key cities in Andhra Pradesh. In other places, decisions are likely to be taken based on the strength of the respective parties. There are expectations that another mayoral seat may be allocated to Jana Sena in the erstwhile Godavari districts, where the party has a strong presence. However, many people from the ruling Telugu Desam Party are in the race for the Vijayawada mayoral seat. TDP leadership is calculating that if the seat is allocated to Jana Sena as part of the alliance, it would not only avoid competition among its own leaders but also mean giving a highly important position to its alliance partner. As the Vijayawada mayoral seat is being allocated to Jana Sena, it is being said that a TDP candidate will contest for the mayoral seat of another key city nearby, Guntur.
This time, the mayor is expected to be elected directly by the people. In the past, the candidate belonging to the party with a majority of elected corporators would be elected as mayor. To avoid no-confidence motions and other forms of confusion, a direct election for the mayor is being planned this time. For TDP and Jana Sena, moving forward without any disputes among the coalition parties in these local body elections will now be a major challenge. Any differences in the calculations could also have an impact on the upcoming Assembly elections. Although it may not be visible on the surface, it is being said that there are significant gaps between leaders and cadres in several districts, particularly in the case of Jana Sena and TDP. Even if everything appears to be fine at the top level, it is well known that ground-level conditions are crucial for elections.
