BJP, Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena denounce Andhra govt's call for unanimous polls

Even as the Andhra Pradesh government is encouraging unanimous elections declaring financial incentives up to Rs 20 lakh for gram panchayats, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its local ally Jana Sena denounced the move on Wednesday.

"Unanimous elections are a ploy by the government to scare people, to bring pressure on candidates who want to contest. Using the local administration to make people withdraw from elections, it is a conspiracy to make elections unanimous," alleged Jana Sena leader Nadendla Manohar.

Manohar said as a political party, the Jana Senahas a responsibility in the matter and called for nominations across the state.

"But the government is encouraging unanimous polls. It is surprising that the government is encouraging unanimous polls with press conferences and wide publicity," he observed.

He demanded that the State Election Commission on behalf of the BJP and the Jana Sena take suo motu cognizance of the issue and look into it, calling for elections to take place in all villages and panchayats, to negate unanimous polls.

Manohar said both the parties have taken an appointment with Governor Bisaw Bhusan Harichandan on Friday to make a representation.

"Elections should happen in a free and transparent environment. Democracy should be upheld. Administration should also work to uphold democracy," he said.

On Tuesday, the Andhra Pradesh government announced financial incentives up to Rs 20 lakh in the forthcoming panchayat polls to encourage unanimous elections and thereby enable the gram panchayats to concentrate on development work.

Unanimous elections in gram panchayats (GPs) with a population less than 2,000 will receive a financial incentive of Rs 5 lakh while GPs with a population between 2,001 to 5,000 will receive Rs 10 lakh.

Likewise, GPs with a population between 5,001 to 10,000 will receive an incentive of Rs 15 lakh for unanimous elections.

Those GPs with a population above 10,000 will receive Rs 20 lakh.

Manohar, an aide of actor-politician Pawan Kalyan, who founded the Jana Sena just before the general elections in 2014, said the alliance partners, BJP and Jana Sena, will encourage the youth to contest elections across the state.

"This opportunity will encourage youth to move forward in public life, which Pawan Kalyan also called for. Both the BJP and the Jana Sena decided to contest at all places in the panchayat elections," he added.