All parties want a piece in Andhra Pradesh municipal pie

Naveen S Garewal 

Tribune News Service 

Hyderabad, March 7

The fight for the Andhra Pradesh (AP) Municipal elections is getting intense with more parties announcing their decision to contest the polls.

In the latest announcement, the Hyderabad based All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) has announced that it would contest 47 wards in AP that has a sizable Muslim population.  

Andhra Pradesh will hold polls across 12 corporations and 75 municipalities on March 10. 

AIMIM which is a predominantly Muslim party that has been expanding its base from Telangana to other states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, etc where there is large Muslim population. 

The AIMIM president and Hyderabad Member of Parliament (MP) Asaduddin Owaisi who is touring AP said the party will field candidates in Adoni, Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur, Kadapa, Nandikotkur, Guntakal, Kadiri, Rayadurg, Hindupur, and the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation.  

In the past prior to 2014 in the erstwhile state of AP, the AIMIM had contested elections in the state. It has fielded candidates to contest 34 Assembly seats in Telangana and AP but did not win any seats in Andhra Pradesh.  

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu is currently in AP to campaign for his party candidates. TDP is now an AP party with not many stakes in any other state.

Naidu is pitching for the revival of Amaravati, his dream project that was scrapped by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on coming to power in 2019. He has been asking for at least one person from every house should come forward to fight for continuing Amaravati as the state capital. 

In the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation there are 347 candidates are in the fray for 64 wards. The YSRCP has fielded candidates in all the wards while TDP, which has an alliance with CPI, is contesting 57 seats. The CPI has fielded candidates in six wards. The BJP fielded candidates in 22 wards, while the Jana Sena Party candidates are contesting in 41 wards. The Congress fielded candidates in 34 wards, CPI-M in 22 wards and BSP is contesting in two wards.