The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Congress sweeps WUA chief polls

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Saturday, Jan 12, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Congress sweeps WUA chief polls

All other parties, including TRS, fare poorly

Congress wins 6,022 of the 10,200 posts of WUA presidents
‘Telangana sentiment’ hardly visible

HYDERABAD: The Congress won 6,022 of the 10,200 posts of presidents of Water Users Associations (WUAs) in elections held across the State recently. The Telugu Desam Party remained way behind with 3,284 WUAs, while all other parties, including the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), fared poorly.

Elections were held to 10,200 out of a total of 10,574 associations but were deferred in 374 following submergence of WUAs in major, medium and minor irrigation projects.

Dominant in 3 regions

According to the results declared here on Friday, the Congress dominated the elections in all the three regions.

The TDP put up a fight in a few Telangana districts but could not match the ruling party’s onslaught in all the four Rayalaseema districts.

In the Andhra region, the performance of the main Opposition party was marginally better but nowhere near that of the Congress.

Significant outcome

A significant political outcome of these grassroot elections in which farmers are voters was that the TRS’ performance was quite dismal in the Telangana region.

It could wrest only 309 out of 4,414 WUAs in the nine Telangana districts, compared to 1,428 of the TDP and 2,159 of the Congress.

‘Sentiment’ absent

The ‘Telangana sentiment’, which the TRS claims is very strong, was not visible in these elections even in Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Medak districts, which are perceived as its strongholds.

In Warangal, out of the 737 WUAs where elections were held, the TRS ended with only 50 posts while in neighbouring Karimnagar, considered the TRS’ bastion, the party won 84, against 252 of the Congress and 219 of the Telugu Desam.

Its tally in Nizamabad was 54, Medak (96), Adilabad (14), and Ranga Reddy (4) and in Khammam it could not open its account.

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Andhra Pradesh