KCR for big win in civic polls to stymie Telangana BJP

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is said to have made it clear to TRS leaders that the ensuing municipal elections will be a test for the party to check the aggressive approach of the BJP.

The BJP leadership after the Lok Sabha results has been claiming that the party will emerge as an alternative to the TRS and will come in power in 2023.

Sources disclosed that while discussing strategy with some senior leaders, Mr Rao told them not to worry about the statements of the BJP leaders and their claim that they would defeat the ruling party in the civic polls.

Sources said Mr Rao asked the leaders to gear up the cadre to grab a majority of the municipalities and corporations so as to not give scope to the BJP to settle in any of the urban local bodies. The government has told the High Court that it is prepared to hold the elections to the civic bodies.

Mr Rao made it clear to the leaders that only if the Congress leaders allowed the party to wither would the BJP have some scope to emerge as the opposition to the TRS.

Sources said that the party chief pointed out that though the BJP won four Lok Sabha seats, it could not show much imp-act on the rural voters wh-ere the Congress had got more votes in many places. The party cadres are worried by the victory of the BJP in Adilabad, Nizamabad and Karimn-agar Lok Sabha seats. They fear the BJP will surely concentrate on the Nizamabad and Karim-nagar municipal corporation to defeat the TRS.

TRS leaders also felt that the BJP will also eye the Bhainsa, Nirmal Adila-bad, Asifabad, Kamareddy, Mahbubnagar, Sircilla, Huzurabad and Pedda-pally municipalities as the several Congress leaders, including former ministers, who had a following in the erstwhile districts of Kar-imnagar, Mahabub-nagar and Adilabad have joined the BJP.

Officials told to fill up rural vacancies

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Satur-day instructed officials to fill up vacancies from the panchayat secretary level to the chief executive officer of zilla parishads immediately.

Mr Rao held a review meeting on strengthening of the panchayat raj (PR) institutions and told officials that the post of the extension officer would be treated as mandal panchayat officer.

He said promotions should be given to the village secretaries, mandal panchayat officers, mandal parishad development officers, divisional panchayat officers, deputy CEOs, DPOs, CEOs etc.

He told officers that the panchayat secretaries posts should be filled through direct recruitment.

Mr Rao said clarity would be given on the duties and responsibilities of officials. Funds for local bodies would be released before the commencement of the 60-day action plan.