TDP, Cong readying for panchayat polls

By R. J. Rajendra Prasad

HYDERABAD, NOV. 27. The next trial of strength between the Congress and the Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh will take place towards the end of January 2001, when elections for panchayat raj institutions are likely to be held.

The Congress is confident of putting up a good performance, based on its assessment that there is widespread discontent among farmers for lack of remunerative prices for agriculture produce, erratic supply of power in villages, increase in power tariff effected from June this year and the general discontent among the rural population.

The Telugu Desam is equally confident of putting up a good performance, thanks to an unexpectedly spontaneous response to its membership drive, in which about 5,000 members were recruited in each Assembly segment.

The Telugu Desam is waiting for the House Committee, constituted with Telugu Desam, BJP and MIM members, to submit its report on power tariff, after which the State Government will recommend to the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission that it increase the slabs from four to six, to give the much- needed relief to the middle class in the 50-200 units a month consumption category. Though the new slabs and new tariff will come into force from April next, the mere fact that the Government wants to give substantial relief will help the party in power.

The unanimous re-election of Mr. M. Sathyanarayana Rao as president of the Pradesh Congress Committee was on expected lines, because he had spent only six months in that post earlier, and his assertion that the Congress will launch an agitation on farmers problems ``with the same tempo as the agitation against the hike in power tariff'' clearly shows the direction of the party campaign for the panchayat raj elections.

These elections were due earlier this year, but were postponed because the Government wanted a Constitutional amendment to introduce a three-tier system of elections, instead of the five- tier as it exists at present. The sarpanch of a panchayat is directly elected by voters in the village, and he exercises executive powers with the help of officials at the village level. The mandal and the zilla parishad are divided into territorial constituencies, and the members of the MPTC and the ZPTC are elected by voters. These MPTC and ZPTC members have no executive powers, but they elect the mandal president and zilla parishad president, and attend the mandal and zilla parishad meetings whereas the sarpanches and mandal presidents cannot attend.

With Congress support, the Assembly passed a unanimous resolution seeking a return to a three-tier system of a sarpanch, mandal president and zilla parishad president, eliminating the MPTC and ZPTC members. However, local Congressmen were unable to convince their Central leadership to support this change, and a Constitutional amendment has no chance without Congress support in the Rajya Sabha. So, the State Government is reconciled to having elections on the existing pattern.

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Section  : Southern States
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