It may take at least a few weeks’ time for the officials to initiate the election process for the coveted post of the Mayor in the Kakinada Municipal Corporation (KMC).
With 35 out of 48 divisions in its kitty, the TDP-BJP combine has the majority enough to choose the Mayor on its own.
As the post is reserved for women, and the TDP promised it for Kapus, there are four persons in the race.
Promises made
The Mayor has a final say on the spending of ₹500 crore allocated by the Central government under the Smart City initiative (hardly 10% of it has been spent in the last two-and-a-half years) and at least another ₹1,000 crore to be released by the State government for fulfilling the promises made by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during the election campaign.
The promises include laying of permanent drainage system, widening of roads, construction of bridges, and beautification of the city.
Since the Mayor’s post is a combination of power and funds, the competition is keen and the equations are changing fast.
The three TDP rebels, who won by defeating the BJP candidates, have made it clear that they are with the ruling party. Though it upset the BJP, it has no option but to remain silent.
BJP’s dilemma
Had it won at least three more divisions out of the nine allocated to it, the BJP would have demanded the Deputy Mayor post.
District Collector and Election Officer Kartikeya Misra has communicated the outcome of the election to the State Election Commission (SEC). The SEC, in turn, will have to submit the same to the High Court and wait for its word on the Mayor’s election.
It may be recalled that the KMC election notification had been issued following a series of cases, including contempt of court, filed in the High Court.
According to sources, the court may ask the SEC to issue a notification either for the Mayor’s election or for election in the two divisions where polling was not conducted. The former is less time-taking compared with the latter.
In the meanwhile, there is every possibility of the competition getting keener with at least two more joining the race in the days to come.
