Political parties welcomed the Supreme Court's order to conduct elections for local bodies, and are bracing up for the event.
Panchayat Raj Minister K Jana Reddy welcomed the verdict and said that elections to the local bodies will be held soon.
Opposition parties TDP, YSRCP and the Left parties welcomed the verdict, and expressed the wish that the polls be held on party basis.
Elections to local bodies were stalled as there was a legal tangle on reservations to BCs with the overall quota exceeding the 50% limit. Supreme Court has directed that the elections be held as per the reservations applicable in 2001. It was only during the period of T Anjaiah that the local bodies elections were held on party basis.
The Constitution was amended during Rajiv Gandhi term to decentralize the power enabling panchayats to deal with several subjects. MLAs have objected the transfer of some subjects, and, for the past two years, the elections were not held, with the BC quota being the main issue.
BC Welfare associations have demanded that reservations be allotted in proportion with their population, and it remains to be seen how the state will handle the situation. (INN)
filed in:K Jana Reddy, Local Body Elections, Elections, Backward Classes