Elections to six MLC seats slated for November 29

HYDERABAD: The long wait is over. The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday sounded the bugle for the election to six vacant seats in the Telangana Legislative Council under the MLAs’ quota.According to the schedule released by the ECI, the notification for the election would be issued on November 9, and the polling, if warranted, would be held on November 29.On June 3, the six seats fell vacant after the term of the incumbents expired. They were Akula Lalitha, Mohammad Fareeduddin, Gutha Sukhender Reddy, Nethi Vidyasagar, Bodakunti Venkateshwarlu, and Kadiyam Srihari.

Though the election to a vacancy in the legislative council is conducted much before the seat is vacated, the ECI had deferred the polls this time on account of the pandemic.The TRS has 102 seats in the Legislative Assembly and its friendly party AIMIM has seven seats, which makes it easy for the ruling party to sweep the elections.  But the TRS had requested the ECI to defer the election when the latter sought its advice on conducting the polls amidst the pandemic. 

The decision of the TRS flummoxed political circles as it could steam-roll its way in the election with a brute majority in the Assembly. Perhaps, the TRS did not want to stoke the flames of dissidence ahead of the Huzurabad byelection since there are one too many aspirants to enter the portals of the Legislative Council. According to sources, the TRS will begin taking a hard look at who should be the party nominees after November 2 when the verdict in the battle for the Huzurabad bypoll would be known.

In fact, all those who had retired from the Council are eyeing another term, besides those who were promised a berth by the Chief Minister, including MC Kotireddy, an important leader from Nagarjuna Sagar constituency, and former minister and SC leader Motkupalli Narasimhulu, who had joined the TRS recently. Biding his time to join the council is L Ramana, who broke ranks with the TDP and joined the TRS to fill the gap of a BC leader in erstwhile Karimnagar after the exit of Eatala Rajender.