The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Vijayawada News : BJP's city unit keen on fighting civic polls alone

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada

BJP's city unit keen on fighting civic polls alone

By R. Balaji

VIJAYAWADA, NOV. 16. The city unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party prefers to go it alone in the ensuing elections to the Municipal Corporation of Vijayawada. An overwhelming view within the party is that continuing the poll alliance with the Telugu Desam Party for the local body elections would affect the former's long-term ambition of expanding its own base within the State.

The view gained strength after the drubbing the two parties received in the recent general elections.

According to the party General Secretary, K. Laxman, the State committee decided that the decision on whether to fight the coming local bodies polls jointly or go alone was left to the discretion of the party's town and district units.

"There is a near unanimous view among partymen that we should fight the elections on our own and expand the base in the city," the city unit General Secretary, V. Sreeram Sai, told The Hindu here on Tuesday.

During the previous elections, as part of alliance the TDP contested 36 divisions leaving 14 to the BJP. While the TDP won 13 seats, the BJP managed to win four. The Congress won 24 seats, the Left parties eight, and an independent candidate one.

Seat-sharing snags

However, five years down the line, the BJP now feels it is time for the party to grow on its own instead of riding `piggyback' on the TDP. During the recent Assembly elections, there was also strong resistance from the partymen to sacrificing the Vijayawada East seat to the TDP as part of the poll pact.

According to BJP leaders, the party has a strong following in several parts of the city like Satyanarayanapuram (wards 26, 27,28), Suryaraopet (32 and 34), Gandhinagar (29 and 30), Machavaram (35 and 38), Moghalrajapuram (39), Patamata (43 and 45), besides Krishna Lanka, Ayodhya Nagar and surrounding areas.

To expand its base, the party had already appointed 19 senior functionaries as in charges for various wards in the city. In the next few days, the party planned to appoint individual in charges for each ward.

"Once the in charges are appointed for each ward, we would take up various programmes to highlight the local problems of the people," Mr. Sreeram Sai said.

TDP's view

However, the TDP city unit president and former Member of Parliament, Gadde Ramamohan said his party was keen on continuing the alliance with the BJP for the Corporation elections. He said the party high command had convened meetings with the local units from November 19, at Hyderabad during which the issue would be discussed.

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