The Congress party on Wednesday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) alleging conspiracy behind the schedule for elections for three vacant MLC seats from local bodies in the State.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson, Sravan Dasoju, said it would be the first election in the country where the elected ZPTCs and MPTCs would sit idle while those who have already completed their term would vote for the new MLCs.
Earlier, he met the full Commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum given by TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on the issue. Mr. Sravan, who later spoke to mediapersons, said all three MLC seats of Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda and Warangal local authorities’ constituencies fell vacant in December 2018, but the schedule was declared on the midnight of May 6.
“What’s more interesting is that the ruling party was so quick to declare the names of its candidates as if the schedule was finalised at TRS Bhavan,” he alleged and said that the timing has raised suspicion among many. The most astonishing aspect is that there is no voters’ list of ZPTCs and MPTCs who would vote in the elections.
Also, the process for election of ZPTC and MPTC was still on and the results would be declared on May 27. “Is it not a glaring evidence of the manipulative intent behind the notification?” Mr. Sravan questioned. He said when the opposition leaders met Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar on the issue, he clarified that the old voters’ list would be used for the polls. “Is it not a mockery of democracy if the old ZPTCs and MPTCs are allowed to vote on May 31, while the newly-elected ZPTCs and MPTCs will be getting their winning certificate on May 27?” he asked.
He expressed apprehension over the Telangana CEO keeping the CEC in dark about the ongoing ZPTC and MPTC elections in Telangana. He alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao got the election schedule released on May 6 after his party lost badly in the graduates and teachers’ constituencies last month.
He said the Election Commission was apprised of the situation in Telangana and a request has been made to postpone the elections by at least two weeks.