Kyathanpalli Chairman Poll Turns Prestige Issue for Cong., BRS

Adilabad: Elections to the chairman and vice-chairman posts of Kyathanpalli municipality in Mancherial district have assumed political significance after the Telangana High Court directed the State Election Commission to conduct the polls within three weeks.

The court issued the direction on March 6 following a petition filed by BRS leaders seeking early conduct of the elections.

Both the BRS and Congress are vying for the chairman post in the 22-member municipal council. In the recent ward elections, BRS won 10 seats, Congress seven, CPI four and an Independent one. With CPI extending support to the BRS, the party has reached the majority mark.

Mancherial DCC president Pinninti Raghunath Reddy told the media that elections to the chairman and vice-chairman posts had been pending due to technical reasons despite completion of ward elections.

Minister Gaddam Vivek and Peddapalli MP Gaddam Vamsi have ex-officio votes in the council and have already registered them at Kyathanpalli.

Meanwhile, former MLA Balka Suman and three other BRS leaders were arrested in connection with an alleged attack on minister Vivek’s convoy and were later released.

The outcome of the Kyathanpalli municipal leadership election is being closely watched as a political test for Minister Vivek and MP Vamsi in the region.

In neighbouring Nirmal district, the election to the chairman post of Khanapur municipality is also pending. The 12-member council comprises four councillors each from the BRS and BJP, three from Congress and one Independent.

The Independent councillor has reportedly extended support to Congress. However, BJP leaders have offered to share the chairman and vice-chairman posts with the BRS to keep the Congress out of power.