Early civic polls in offing?

VISAKHAPATNAM: With chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and the Telugu Desam Party winning brownie points for their effective relief and rescue works in the aftermath Cyclone Hudhud, the number of aspirants for the mayor's post has gone up as many leaders feel winning the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) elections will be a cakewalk for TDP now.
Sensing this positive sentiment among the people of Vizag, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who had camped in Vizag for nearly 10 days to personally supervise rescue and relief operations, too is reportedly mulling conducting GVMC elections as early as possible to cash in on this wave.
According to sources, though Naidu was in no mood to hold civic polls in the remaining corporations like GVMC, Guntur and Kakinada as well as a couple of municipalities as he was grappling with the loan waiver issue, the scene had completely changed after the cyclone not just in the Port City but also across the state.
With Naidu impressing the people with his hands-on approach and work on the ground, he has sidelined the opposition parties and is now eyeing the GVMC elections, a source pointed out.
In fact, sources pointed out that the main opposition party YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) had got wind of Naidu's plans, which is why it was trying to regain lost ground and garner public support by organising anti-government protests.
According to TDP sources, leaders like former TDP floor leader in GVMC, Chode Pattabhiram, a strong follower of Visakha East MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, former urban TDP (Visakha) presidents Kona Tata Rao and Dr Zaheer Ahmed, former deputy floor leader of TDP in GVMC, P Mutyala Naidu, and former MLA SA Rehman are in the race. Leaders are now pinning their hopes on the GVMC elections as the government's efforts to restore normalcy in Visakhapatnam within a week of the cyclone has considerably improved the party's winning chances.
"It will definitely be a cakewalk for TDP in the GVMC elections. A majority people in the city are impressed by Naidu's efficient relief work. This has earned TDP lot of goodwill from all sections not only in the city but also across the state," senior TDP leader Dr Zaheer Ahmed said.
In fact, YSRCP leaders like former MLAs Malla Vijaya Prasad, Tynala Vijaya Kumar and Tippala Gurumurthy Reddy, who were hoping to bag the GVMC polls %on the back of Naidu's failure to fulfill his loan waiver promise to farmers and self-help women's groups, have been left shattered by the swing in the public sentiment in favour of TDP thanks to Naidu's diligence in cyclone relief, admitted YSRCP sources.
However, sources close to BJP indicated that if Naidu did decide to go ahead with early civic polls, the saffron party would demand TDP's support for at least one corporation, which may well be GVMC, because the TDP-BJP alliance was struck only after the elections for local bodies like panchayats, MPTCs and municipalities were held.
"If that happens, then former Anakapalle MP Sabbam Hari, who is close to both the parties and had withdrawn his Visakha Lok Sabha candidature during the 2014 elections, may once again be fielded as the mayor candidate by both the allies. Our leader had become close to CM Naidu and Union minister Venkaiah Naidu following his role in the electoral defeat of Jagan's mother Vijayamma in Vizag," a Sabbam supporter said.
But when contacted, Sabbam Hari, once the voice of YSRCP president Jagan, said he had not been approached by either party and opined that the GVMC polls may not take place so early.