BJP eyes GVMC top chair, Sabbam to help

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, July 1, 2014:  BJP which could get 4 MLAs and 2 MPs in AP in just concluded polls, due to its alliance with TD, seems to have now shifted focus towards, strengthening the party at grass roots on its own and its leaders are said to be eyeing Vizag mayor’s post.

Polls for GVMC could not be held along with other municipalities and corporations in the state as the officials could not complete the wards reorganization in the wake of merger of Bheemili and Anakapalle municipalities into GVMC. And the TD which is riding high on success wave is expected to urge the poll authorities to hold the polls as early as possible.

Though, the BJP won’t contest on its own, but will go with TD in the upcoming GVMC polls, party is said to be interested in fielding majority of its candidates in the wards and insist on mayor chair if the alliance gets majority seats. This, BJP leaders feel will help strengthening the party in Vizag which has one MP and an MLA. Earlier, BJP candidate, NSN Reddy was the first mayor of Vizag Municipal Corporation in 1979.

Later  legal luminary DV Subba Rao, who won as the city mayor on a TD ticket joined BJP. Though he contested for Vizag Lok Sabha on a BJP ticket twice, he lost. The present Vizag MP, Kambhampati Haribabu was also once BJP MLA during 1999.

Analysts are also pointing that, that the GVMC polls may create a rift between both the parties in sharing mayor and deputy mayor posts among them. There are also reports that, former Anakapalle MP Sabbam Hari who started his political career as city mayor will also help in strategizing for BJP during the GVMC polls.

Sabbam Hari, though officially didn’t join BJP, supported its Vizag Lok Sabha candidate Haribabu, by withdrawing from the race two days before the actual polling day. He filed nominations to contest for Vizag Lok Sabha as former chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s  Jai Samaikyandhra Party.