Andhra Pradesh - Eluru   

Multi-cornered contests likely in West Godavari

Staff Reporter

The Congress-CPI(M) combine and the TDP to contest in all wards of the seven municipalities and the EMC, the BJP in 82 wards and CPI in 10 wards

ELURU: ELURU: With the nomination phase having come to a close on Friday, battle lines are drawn for the municipal elections in West Godavari district. Over 800 candidates remain in the fray in the seven municipalities and the Eluru Municipal Corporation after the withdrawal of several candidates.

The Telugu Desam Party, the principal opposition, is poised to wage a lone battle to regain its hold over the municipalities even as the BJP has parted ways with the former and is set to go it alone. The Congress and the CPI(M) have succeeded to strike a deal with regard to seat adjustments while the CPI has decided to fight it out single-handedly. The hotchpotch election scene is an indication for the imminent multi-cornered contest in all the municipalities.

The Congress-CPI(M) combine and the TDP is fighting the election in all the wards of the seven municipalities and the EMC. The BJP has fielded its candidates in 82 wards\divisions while the CPI is contesting in 10 wards\divisions. For the CPI, the lone battle has become inevitable when its efforts to clinch a deal with the Congress proved futile. The TDP is testing the waters now after its humiliating defeat in the last general elections in the district. The TDP-BJP combine had won all the seven municipalities in the previous elections and Narsapur municipality went to the BJP in seat adjustments. It appears to be a Herculean task for the TDP to retain its hold in the present election in the absence of an alliance with the BJP and a united fight put up by the Congress and the CPI(M).

According to the BJP district president, P. Manikyala Rao, his party would go to the voters with an appeal to defeat both the Congress and the BJP for `appeasing' the Muslim minorities by advocating 5 per cent reservations for them.

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Multi-cornered contests likely in West Godavari

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