AP division: Local bodies polls to be first test for parties

Elections will be held three-and-a-half years behind schedule

Elections to Urban Local Bodies in Andhra Pradesh this month will be the first political challenge for major political parties in the state in the post-division scenario.

The elections, slated for March 30, will be held three-and-a-half years behind schedule and will determine where each party stands ahead of the general elections.

The urban local bodies elections will be held on a political basis in 146 municipalities and 10 municipal corporations across the state.

The political scene remained hazy in the last few days after Parliament cleared the AP Reorganisation Bill-2014.

But now, the picture has become somewhat clear, at least in Telangana, after the Telangana Rashtra Samiti refused to merge with the Congress.

A lot is at stake for Congress which is going to town in Telangana claiming credit for creation of a separate state. In coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, however, it is pushing the division blame on to the opposition parties. The ULB polls will reveal whether it could cut ice with the electorate in both the regions with its conflicting claims.

For the principal opposition Telugu Desam Party, which is virtually fighting for its existence, the ULB elections will be an acid test in Telangana as much as in Seemaandhra.

Despite openly supporting the creation of Telangana state, the TDP is facing the accusation of covertly trying to block the bifurcation.

In Seemaandhra, it is being projected as one of the 'villains' in the piece for enabling the state's division.

The TDP, thus, finds itself in an unenviable position in Telangana and Seemaandhra even as its supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is spiritedly seeking to counter the attacks with his "development" agenda in both regions.

Will he be able to win the confidence of the electorate on either side of the divide is the big question haunting the TDP's rank and file.