The one-year extended term of the eight elected members of Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) has come to an end, and now all eyes are on the Defence Ministry, which is expected to announce the formation of a ‘Varied Board’ on Wednesday.
The Ministry had earlier extended the tenure of the elected members twice for six months each and with the election notification not issued, a Varied Board consisting of president Brigadier Abhijit Chandra, who is also Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Sub Area Commander; Chief Executive Officer B. Ajith Reddy; and a nominated civilian member will take charge.
Senior officials said the Varied Board will have powers equivalent to that of the full board and will continue to administer day-to-day affairs of the Secunderabad Cantonment till elections are held for the eight civilian wards. The other seven members are drawn from the local military authority and one representative from the State government — district revenue officer.
Elections to the civilian wards are held on non-political party basis and one among them is elected as the vice-president. Generally, the elected members move closer to the ruling party in the State and Centre. With the BJP in power at the Centre and many seasoned politicians from the Cantonment joining the party in recent times, there is a lot of speculation and lobbying for the single-nominated civilian member in the Varied Board.
Meeting heavyweights
Interested candidates have been meeting top leaders like Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister of State for Home and Secunderabad MP G. Kishan Reddy, national OBC morcha president K. Laxman, general secretary M. Srinivas. vice president Vivek Venkatswamy and others.
Former SCB vice president J. Pratap and former Minister G. Vijayarama Rao , both recent entrants into BJP, are considered among top contenders. Mr. Pratap, who has been a member of the Varied Board earlier and has the distinction of being elected four times as a member, has a firmer political base in the Cantonment.
Mr. Rao has been one of the senior leaders of TRS and could well be in contention for the Cantonment Assembly constituency ticket from the party. Political grapevine is abuzz that the BJP wants to choose a leader who will help strengthen it at the grassroots so as to give a firmer base in the next Assembly elections.
