Hyderabad, November 11: ‘Small yet sure win’ appears to be the mantra the Praja Rajyam has adopted for the GHMC elections. One may contest all the 150 seats, but end up winning only a few due to the organisational hitches faced by the fledgling party. Instead, restraining itself to 60-odd divisions where the party is presumed to be strong and winning a majority of them could boost the spirits of the cadre while silencing the critics.
High command decision
This was more or less the tactic enunciated by the PR Greater Hyderabad chief K.Srinivas Yadav while discussing the party’s poll strategy for the GHMC polls. Debunking the claims that he could not find enough number of suitable candidates to contest from all divisions, Mr.Yadav said it was the high command’s decision not to contest all the seats.
“I was ready with a list of 110 candidates, but it was reasoned out in a meeting that only about 55 to 56 seats have to be contested,” he said. Finally, 50 candidates have filed their nominations officially, while 17 more candidates who filed nominations without party’s nod have been issued B- forms on Monday, taking the total figure to 67.
Mr.Yadav attributes the decision to loss of cadre in the aftermath of the Assembly elections. Many leaders who hopped on from other parties during the general elections deserted the PR along with cadre, leaving behind a befuddled leadership.
“We did not have enough time to build back the party where the number of deserters is large. Though there is no dearth of candidates, we are falling short of booth-level cadre. In such a scenario, we felt it would be prudent to contest from divisions where our cadre is competent. We are looking forward to winning at least 20 seats,” Mr. Yadav said.
Focus will be on divisions where the party’s vote percentage was high in the Assembly polls. More than 30 seats were given to BCs, while Dalits were allotted seats under general category too, he said.
Inundation, drinking water problems, law and order, health emergency, traffic chaos, and drainage problems will be projected in the campaign, Mr.Yadav said.
–Agencies