While all the major political parties were keenly waiting for the dates of lok Sabha and the State Assembly elections, the announcement of the urban local bodies elections by the State Election Commission has come as a bolt out of blue for many of them.
The elections to the 156 urban local bodies across the State on March 30 are now being seen as a semi-final as they will throw up a clear indication about the respective strength of the major political parties in different regions of the State. The State Election Commissioner P Ramakant Reddy announced the schedule of the elections after the Andhra Pradesh High Court refused to stay the elections and directed the Commission to conduct the polls.
The development has left the political parties jittery as the local bodies’ poll outcome will have a direct bearing on the lok Sabha and Assembly elections as it can influence the public mood. The local bodies elections will also affect the internal politics of different parties as different groups will vie for the upper hand in the ticket distribution. It can accentuate the group rivalries and differences and may also cause desertions by the disgruntled elements. The parties were also afraid that these polls will be another drain on their resources when bigger elections were looming large on the horizon.
There are 10 Municipal Corporations among the 156 municipal bodies going to the polls and they will clearly show which way the wind was blowing in the urban areas. As far as the respective strengths of different political parties is concerned, the TRS was comfortably placed in Telangana with Congress close behind to claim the credit for Telangana State. Similarly the BJP will also test its strength though it never scored big in the local election in the past.
Telugu Desam Party and YSRCP were likely to find the going tough because of their seemingly anti-Telangana stand in the past. Conversely, in the Seemandhra region, it will be Congress which will find the situation very difficult as it is seen responsible for bifurcation. BJP will go it alone may face the wrath of the people on the same grounds. Essentially it will be a fight between the TDP and the YSR Congress, the two self proclaimed champion of Seemandhra region.