Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Even as speculation is rife that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre may go for early elections to the Lok Sabha, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has asserted that it is ready to face the elections anytime.
The YSRCP also sees no reason to wait until the elections for the State Legislative Assembly are held as per the schedule in 2024.
In an informal talk with the media persons at the party office, near here, on September 2, YSRCP State general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said that if the elections to the Lok Sabha were advanced to December this year, then the gap for the Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh would be four or five months.
“In such a scenario, the Assembly elections can also be advanced and conducted along with the Lok Sabha elections. The YSRCP is ready to face the elections anytime. The party is confident of retaining the popular support it enjoyed in the previous elections,” he said.
Legislative Assembly elections for five States — Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Rajasthan — were due in November-December, and they would be followed by the Lok Sabha elections in May-June next. The Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh Assemblies were scheduled to go to the polls along with the Lok Sabha elections.
The NDA government at the Centre had called for a special session of Parliament from September 18, the agenda for which was under wraps.
The Centre had constituted a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of “one nation, one election”.
The development triggered strong reactions from the opposition parties and led to the speculation that the Centre might advance the Lok Sabha polls.