High drama marks Zilla Parishad chiefs’ poll in Nellore, Prakasam

Election in Nellore deferred; TD leader switches sides in Prakasam shocking ruling party

Intense political manoeuvring marked the election to chairperson and vice-chairperson posts of Nellore and Prakasam zilla parishads on Sunday as the ruling Telugu Desam and the YSR Congress tried to outsmart one another in gaining an upper hand.

The election for the top post in the Nellore ZP was deferred indefinitely by the election authorities who cited lack of quorum as the reason while an independent, who shocked the TDP by switching over sides suddenly, won the post with help of the YSRC ZPTC members in Prakasam district. The ZPTC E. Haribabu, who was elected on behalf of the TDP, remained with the party till the election of the co-opted members but switched sides immediately thereafter giving a shock to the party leadership.

Kidnap

The day witnessed a day light kidnap of some YSRC MPTCs in Guntur allegedly by a group affiliated to the TDP while the election of chairperson of the Jammalamadugu municipality in Kadapa turned into an anti-climax, passing off peacefully. The YSRC and the TDP shared the honours in Jammalamadugu winning the chairperson and vice-chairperson posts respectively, through a draw of lots.

High drama was witnessed in Nellore and Prakasam ZPs since the election process commenced in the morning. There were reports that the TDP managed to secure support of a few YSRC ZPTCs in its bid to capture the post in spite of the YSRC having a clear majority in the district.

The TDP which was eight short of the half way mark reportedly garnered support of seven YSRC ZPTCs even as the main Opposition could not ensure the presence of all its members in the House when the election process was on. While the TDP members refused to participate in the voting, only 22 members of the YSRC, one short of the 23 members required for quorum, were present at the time of the election. This forced the election officials to defer the process indefinitely.

The day was also marked by the arrest of YSRC’s Markapuram ZPTC member J. Venkata Ranga Reddy hours before the election under the provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.