BRS questions SEC over scheduling of civic polls
Hyderabad: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has formally challenged the State Election Commission (SEC) regarding the recently announced municipal election schedule, alleging that the commission has deliberately ignored the Medaram Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, which is Asia’s largest tribal festival.
BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan Kumar expressed grave concerns on Tuesday, describing the extraordinarily compressed timeline as a “procedural ambush” designed to favour the ruling party rather than facilitate a fair and transparent democratic process. He pointed out that providing just one day for voter-roll verification, two days for filing nominations, and barely a week for effective campaigning mocks the foundational principles of representative self-government in the state.
Dasoju Sravan Kumar noted that for the first time in the electoral history of the country, no gap has been provided between the announcement of the schedule and the issuance of the formal election notification.
He further alleged that the SEC has acted like a “puppet” in the hands of the government by callously disregarding the spiritual sentiments of millions of devotees who travel to the Medaram forest for the biennial congregation.
By scheduling the nomination process and polling preparations during a period when almost every household across Telangana is travelling to offer prayers to the Goddesses, he argued that the commission has struck a direct blow to the faith and self-respect (Atma-Gauravam) of the people.
