As the Andhra Pradesh state election commission has begun the exercise for the conduct of local body elections, the opposition YSR Congress party is said to be in a dilemma on whether to contest the elections or boycott them.
The Chandrababu Naidu government is reportedly keen on conducting the polls as per schedule, beginning with gram panchayat elections, followed by mandal and zilla parishad polls, and finally municipal corporation elections.
There are reports that the government may have to defer the local body elections due to the commencement of the national census exercise starting April this year, with house listing, followed by house census.
However, sources said the Naidu government is keen on conducting on the local body elections simultaneously along with the census process.
In all probability, panchayat polls are likely to be held by the end of April and the process for other elections will be completed by June.
Following a recent victory in the Pulivendula ZPTC by-election, the ruling Telugu Desam Party-led alliance is hopeful of sweeping the local body elections.
Meanwhile, the YSRCP appears to be weighing its options carefully. Internal discussions are reportedly ongoing on whether to contest the local body elections or consider a boycott.
Since the ruling party always has an advantage in the local body elections, the YSRCP may not achieve much success in the battle.
It happened in the last elections as well, as the YSRCP won nearly 90% of the local bodies.
So, instead of facing a humiliation, some party leaders are of the view that it will be better to keep away from the elections for now.
Some others, however, feel, boycotting the elections could weaken grassroots cadre and adversely affect the party’s long-term prospects.
The YSRCP leaders believe that anti-incumbency against the government may work in its favour if it chooses to contest.
The coming weeks are expected to be crucial in shaping Andhra Pradesh’s political landscape ahead of the local body elections.