Secunderabad Cantonment seat in bypoll focus

HYDERABAD: The demise of ruling party legislator G. Sayanna has brought the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly seat into focus though none of the three principal rivals – the BRS, BJP and the Congress – is willing to take the gamble just a few months before the state elections are due this year end.

The Election Commission of India will have two choices – conduct a bypoll along with the Karnataka Assembly elections sometime in May, or put off till the state elections scheduled in December by invoking Section 151A of the Representation of People Act 1951.

Part (a) empowers the EC to overcome the mandatory clause of holding a bypoll within six months of vacancy of a seat if “reminder of the term of a member in relation to vacancy is less than one year” as in the case of the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly constituency.

On the political front, the bypoll, if it takes place, will result in another fierce battle, which obviously would be very expensive, between the ruling party and BJP which is trying hard to replace Congress as the principal opposition. Unlike in Huzurabad or Munugodu, the Congress is active here.

The stakes for the BJP will be very high as the recent setback in Munugodu had slowed down its pace in the run-up for the general elections. A loss in the Cantonment constituency would dent the general perception that it could fare better in Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority limits than in rural areas.

Apparently sensing the complexities, former MLC and Hyderabad city president N. Ramachandra Rao was cautious in his reaction and sought to underplay the outcome in the event of a bypoll. “Sympathy will be the sole deciding factor in the event of a bypoll and none of the burning issues, which we have been highlighting and having a direct bearing on the ruling party in general elections, may influence the outcome in Cantonment,” he pointed out.

Local Congress leaders were in no mood to face the electorate, preferring to save their energies for the December polls. “Sayanna has nurtured a strong base and his death will only add to it due to the sympathy factor. Even if we put our blood and sweat to the battle, we are not sure of winning the seat,” said a contender for the Congress ticket.

The ruling party too will have to face litmus test and cough up hundreds of crores of rupees, a routine in any bypoll to avoid any setback before the general election. With the party No. 2 and minister K T Rama Rao strongly pitching for merger of the Secunderabad cantonment area with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the result would also be dubbed as a referendum.

Another challenge for Rama Rao would be to choose between the kin of Sayanna and close confidant Krishank Manne who has been eyeing for the seat over a few years.