T'gana: TRS, Cong and others gear up for municipal polls

With the Telangana State Election Commission issuing notification for municipal elections, the ruling TRS and other parties on Wednesday stepped up preparations for the poll. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi has convened a meeting of its MLAs and in-charges of assembly constituencies on Thursday to explain the modalities for issuing 'B- Forms' in the municipal polls.

TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would be chief guest at the meeting, TRS sources said on Wednesday. TRS general secretary Srinivasa Reddy would hand over 'A' Forms and 'B' Forms to the MLAs and in-charges of assembly constituencies, the sources said.

Form A and Form B denote details including that a certain candidate has been approved by a political party. Having bagged all the Zilla Parishad chairman posts in the rural local body polls held last year, the TRS is hoping to continue its dominance in the municipal elections to be held on January 22.

The Telangana State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday issued notification for conduct of elections to 129 urban local bodies in the state and the polling is scheduled to be held on January 22. The candidates of the opposition Congress filed nominations at some places on Wednesday, the first day for doing so, party sources said.

The Congress is seeking affidavits from candidates on a stamp paper that they will follow party whip in the election of chairman and vice chairman or accept criminal action otherwise. "All the candidates who will contest on behalf of Congress will have to give affidavit on Rs 20 stamp paper, that we will follow whip issued by Congress party in selection of chairman, vice-chairman and co-option (in municipal polls); otherwise, we will accept if criminal action is taken," state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Tuesday night.

TDP's Telangana unit president L Ramana told reporters on Wednesday that his party would contest the elections independently. TDP's parliamentary constituency committees and municipal committees would together take a decision on selection of candidates as per local situations, he said.

State Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, who held a video conference with district collectors from Hyderabad on Wednesday, directed them to make necessary arrangements for conducting the municipal elections peacefully and to complete the poll process without any problem as per the schedule announced by the SEC, an official release said.PTI SJR BN BN.

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