The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Congress to discuss Council poll strategy with allies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 13, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Congress to discuss Council poll strategy with allies

Special Correspondent

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to host dinner for Congress, CPI, TRS legislators

10 independent MLAs, 3 others to also attend dinner Dinner significant in view of TD fielding 5th nominee

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy will host a dinner for the MLAs of his party and for those from the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen here on March 21 for earmarking the legislators' votes to 23 candidates for the Council elections.

Ten independents, two MLAs of Janata Party and one suspended MLA of the Samajwadi Party will also attend the strategy meeting.

The dinner meeting assumes significance in view of the TDP's decision to field a fifth candidate in the elections to the Council from the MLAs quota. The Congress has fielded 20 candidates and allotted two seats to the CPI and one to the MIM. To ensure the victory of all, it needs to ensure that each candidate polls a minimum of 9.22 votes under the transferable preferential voting system. In this system, the majority of any candidate depends on the second preferential votes.

Lack of coordination

The Chief Minister has taken a serious view of the lack of coordination among some Congress MLAs and Ministers and warned them against being indifferent in ensuring the victory of party candidates from the Local Authorities Constituencies (LACs).

In the elections to the Council from the Assembly too, he is not leaving anything to chance and is attaching one Minister each to the 10-member group of MLAs identified for each candidate to ensure greater coordination.

Session extended

Meanwhile, the budget session has been extended by a day up to March 30 in view of the elections to the Council. The House will not meet on March 16, as the MLAs need to go back to their constituencies for the Council polls from the LACs on the following day.

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