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‘Don’t trust SEC’: TDP boycotts MPTC, ZPTC polls in Andhra Pradesh
For the first time in the last 39 years, the TDP has taken a tough decision to boycott the ZPTC and MPTC elections.
After facing a series of losses in the recent gram panchayat and municipal elections in Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Friday said it will boycott elections to the zilla parishad and mandal (block) parishad which are due next week. A decision to this effect was taken at the TDP politburo meeting held under the leadership of party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu at Guntur on Friday morning.
“For the first time in the last 39 years, the TDP has taken a tough decision to boycott the ZPTC and MPTC elections as we don’t have trust in the SEC. The SEC issued the election notification without consulting the opposition parties which is against the Supreme Court guidelines,” Naidu told reporters in the evening.
He pointed out that as per the Supreme Court’s guidelines, the model code should be reimposed four weeks before the notified date of polling. “The SEC issued a notification now, giving just over a week for the polling scheduled for April 8. This is only to favour the ruling YSR Congress party leaders,” Naidu said.
The TDP chief said his party was boycotting the election not out of fear but lack of faith in the existing system under the Jagan Reddy regime. “We are forced to fight with criminal elements, who have no faith in democracy, and the police who are abetting the election offences committed by the YSRCP. Yet we will continue our legal fight and we have filed a petition in the high court against the SEC’s latest notification,” he said.
Former chief secretary Neelam Sawhney, who took over as state election commissioner (SEC) on Thursday morning following the retirement of her predecessor Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar a day before, announced the schedule for mandal parishad territorial constituencies (MPTCs) and zilla parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTCs) within hours of assuming charge.
She announced the revival of the process for the election of the MPTCs and the ZPTCs, which was abruptly stalled in March 2020 by her predecessor on account of the nation-wide Covid-19 lockdown. The poll process was suspended at the stage of the withdrawal of nominations.
In all, there are 660 ZPTCs and 9,984 MPTCs in Andhra Pradesh, of which as many as 126 ZPTCs and 2,363 MPTCs were elected unanimously during the beginning of the election process in March 2020.
“The elections for the remaining MPTCs and ZPTCs will be held on April 8 and the results would be declared on April 10. The process would begin from the stage of withdrawal of nominations,” Sawhney declared.
In the morning, the TDP along with the BJP, Jana Sena and CPI boycotted the all-party meeting convened by the newly-appointed SEC. The TDP said there was no point in attending the all-party meeting after the SEC unilaterally announced the election schedule for MPTC and ZPTC polls.
Congress representative Masthal Wali attended the all-party meeting but walked out within seconds, stating that there was no point in conducting the meeting after the issuance of the election notification.
CPI leader K Ramakrishna, who also boycotted the meeting, saying it was surprising why the notification was issued so urgently, without giving sufficient time for the political parties.
Only YSRC leader Lella Appi Reddy and CPI(M) leader YV Rao attended the meeting.
