The Hindu                11.05.2013

Local body polls in June, says Revenue Minister

Raghuveera says panchayat elections will be conducted on non-party basis.

Elections to local bodies at all the three levels in Andhra Pradesh will be held between June and August, Revenue Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy said here on Friday. He indicated that notification for the Panchayat bodies will be issued in the first week of June and elections will be conducted in the same month.

While the panchayat elections will be conducted on non-party basis, Municipal elections and Zilla Parishad elections will see political parties locking horns on party symbols, the Minister said. “The government proposes to notify elections for all municipalities and corporations in July, while Zilla Parishad elections will be held in August,” he added.

The government proposes to maintain status quo in the modality of local body elections and a final decision on whether to hold direct or indirect elections to the posts of Mayors, chairpersons will be taken shortly, Mr. Raghuveera Reddy told The Hindu.

The Revenue Minister along with Secondary Education Minister Kolusu Parthasarathy, who had come to Kanuru panchayat on city outskirts, to lay foundation for black-top roads in the village, opined that the party’s victory in Karnataka will go a long way in influencing the voters in Andhra Pradesh too in the coming Assembly elections.

“Modi-impact was not visible in the recent Karnataka elections and people are wise enough to take the right decision at the right time,” they said indicating Congress will do a hat-trick of victories in Andhra Pradesh.

They opined that advancing elections in the State or the Centre was not a possibility at all as the Congress party does not believe in it.

Asked about the number of candidates aspiring for the Chief Minister’s post after 2014 elections, Mr. Raghuveera Reddy said making the final choice was in the domain of the party high command. He also denied that there was any dissidence in the party.