HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has asked its district leaders to forge alliances with friendly political parties to keep anti-TDP and anti-BJP vote intact in the coming municipal elections.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and PCC president K. Keshava Rao, who took stock of the party's strengths district-wise here on Sunday, advised leaders to "select and elect" the candidates.

"Ability to win the elections should be the criteria and we must not allow any differences to come in the way of victory. We must aim at sweeping the elections," they told MLAs, Ministers and MPs, who attended the two-day municipal elections coordination committee meeting.

Interactive session

On the first day on Sunday, leaders and coordination committee members of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions interacted with them.

The exercise was aimed at ironing out differences, if any, and Dr. Reddy and Dr. Keshava Rao expressed happiness at the outcome as well as the preparedness.

The Chief Minister laid stress on the importance of retaining the CPI, the CPI(M), the TRS and the AIMIM as allies and asked leaders to select candidates after eliciting public opinion. District Congress Committees and coordination committees were asked to hold ward-wise meetings on September 3 and 4 to weigh the options in the selection.

Winning formula

"Right candidate, right campaign, unity among leaders and proper emphasis on the people-friendly measures adopted by the Congress Government" held the key to success, Dr. Reddy told the meeting.

When differences between two groups within the Nellore district came to the fore, Dr. Reddy asked them to sort it out locally.

The meeting decided to appoint senior MLAs as additional party observers as part of this effort.

Dharmana plays mediator

Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao played mediator's role in bringing about peace between two warring groups in Guntur by calling them to his home.

As for the election campaign, the meeting decided to focus on major points like no fresh taxes, avoiding power tariff hike and rise in RTC fares despite the upward revision of prices of petroleum products and improved amenities in municipalities.

Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Chittoor, Kadapa and Anantapur districts were represented in full strength with all MLAs, DCC presidents and coordination committee members presenting their case through the coordinators. Ministers in-charge for the districts were present.

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