Parties Push for Strong Candidates in Sarpanch Polls by Persuading Many To Withdraw
BJP, BRS and Congress shortlist candidates as nominations surge across districts.
Adilabad: Major political parties are working to field strong and popular candidates for the sarpanch elections by persuading other aspirants to withdraw. Second-phase nominations have begun in the erstwhile Adilabad district. Senior leaders of the BJP, BRS and Congress are focused on selecting winning candidates, as victories in the sarpanch elections are seen as giving their parties an edge in the upcoming MPTC and ZPTC polls.
In several gram panchayats, relatives and members of the same families have filed nominations for the sarpanch posts. Party leaders say the ZPTC elections will be more competitive, particularly because they determine the ZP chairman posts. Meanwhile, many sarpanch aspirants are seeking financial support for their election expenses.
All major parties are conducting mandal-level meetings to interact with leaders aspiring to contest the sarpanch elections and to finalise candidates.
In the first phase of nominations, 756 nominations were filed for 166 gram panchayats, and 2,199 nominations for 1,390 ward member posts in Indravelli, Utnoor, Narnoor, Gadiguda, Sirikonda and Ichoda mandals of Adilabad district.
In Nirmal district, 798 nominations were filed for 136 gram panchayats and 2,080 nominations for 1,390 ward member posts. In Komaram Bheem Asifabad district, 521 nominations were filed for 114 gram panchayats, and 1,426 nominations for 944 ward members.
In Mancherial district, 518 nominations were filed for 90 gram panchayats, and 1,749 nominations for 816 ward member posts.
It is observed that competition is higher for sarpanch and ward member posts in the plain (non-agency) areas compared to the tribal and agency regions of Adilabad, Nirmal, Mancherial and Komaram Bheem Asifabad districts. Party leaderships attribute the high number of nominations, often from multiple aspirants within the same party, to intense political interest at the grassroots. Many candidates are expected to withdraw their nominations after intervention from senior party leaders.