KTR offers Rs 15 lakh if election to panchayats is unamimous

Hyderabad: The TRS leadership is concentrating on the forthcoming panchayat elections to further strengthen the party at the grassroots level so that it is well-prepared for the Lok Sabha elections later this year.

The TRS leadership has told its MLAs to see that in a majority of panchayats the election is unanimous — that is, that all agree to vote for one party, the TRS. Apart from such a move being highly undemocratic, the TRS is also bribing villages to vote for it. TRS MLAs have been told to announce that from their constituency development fund, about Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, will go to villages that unanimously elect the TRS, with an additional Rs 10 lakh provided by the state government.

TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao visited his constituency of Sircilla on Thursday and held meetings with party workers and leaders, mandal-wise. He announced that Rs 15 lakh from his constituency development fund would go to each gram panchayat where the election result was unanimously in favour of the TRS. He said that in addition to this, the state government will give Rs 10 lakh. After becoming the working president of the TRS, Mr Rama Rao has devoted his time to strengthenig the party at the ground level for the gram panchayat elections.

In Telangana state, 12,751 gram panchayats will go to polls this year. In 2013, elections were held unanimously in about 588 gram panchayats. This time the TRS wants to grab a majority of panchayats to show its strength.

Although gram panchayat elections are held on a non-party basis, political parties try to get their sympathisers to head the panchayats.

MLAs of all political parties are busy in their constituencies ensuring that the elections for ward members and sarpanches are unanimous. In constituencies represented by Opposition parties, the TRS’ constituency in-charges have been given this responsibility.