Congress To Field ‘Joint Candidates’ in Municipal Elections

Adilabad: The Congress has decided to field a single ‘joint candidate’ for each ward in the upcoming municipal elections to prevent rebel candidates from contesting, avoid division of Congress votes and stop dissident leaders from entering the fray as independents.

The party will continue the same strategy in the MPTC and ZPTC elections as well. Congress leaders believe that fielding a single joint candidate reflects unity within the party, sends a positive message to voters and prevents vote-splitting.

The move follows the party’s poor performance in recent gram panchayat elections, particularly in mandal headquarters and major gram panchayats in the erstwhile Adilabad district, especially Komaram Bheem Asifabad district, where the Congress lost several sarpanch posts due to lack of coordination among its leaders.

Senior Congress leaders reportedly failed to ensure the withdrawal of rebel candidates in the sarpanch elections owing to ego clashes, factionalism and internal rivalries. Party sources said these internal differences had severely damaged the Congress’s electoral prospects. The high command, it is learnt, is also taking steps to prevent horse-trading of ward councillors during the election of municipal chairpersons. Municipal elections will be held on party symbols, with parties issuing tickets to aspiring candidates.

Minister Jupally Krishna Rao recently held a meeting with MLC Dande Vittal, former MLA Atram Sakku, Asifabad Assembly in-charge Shyam Naik and DCC president Atram Suguna to review the party’s performance in the gram panchayat elections in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district.

During the meeting, Krishna Rao asked senior Congress leaders in the district to field a single joint candidate in all wards to ensure maximum victories in the municipal elections and prevent rebel candidates from damaging the party’s prospects.

The minister reportedly insisted that the party must win a majority of ward councillor seats in Kagaznagar and Asifabad municipalities by setting aside internal differences. He is learnt to have warned that failure to do so could affect the release of DMFT funds for Komaram Bheem Asifabad district.

Some senior Congress leaders have already submitted proposals for various development works under District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) funds and Special Development Funds (SDF) in the Asifabad Assembly constituency.

A senior Congress leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the party had lost sarpanch posts in several key gram panchayats and mandal headquarters, including Wankidi, Goleti, Kerameri, Jainoor, Sirpur (U), Rebbena, Rajampet and Gadiguda in the Asifabad Assembly constituency.

He said mandal headquarters gram panchayats were crucial for the party in MPTC and ZPTC elections due to their large voter base. “Once a sarpanch is elected, the entire village naturally supports that individual for development works, making it difficult for the Congress to regain ground,” he observed.

It is estimated that nearly 30,000 votes are concentrated in the major gram panchayats and mandal headquarters where the Congress lost sarpanch posts. While independents and Congress rebels won in a few places, the BRS secured a majority of the sarpanch seats in these gram panchayats in the Asifabad Assembly constituency.