This Article is From Mar 04, 2012

Disqualification: BJP keen to contest on 16 seats

Visakhapatnam: A day after 16 MLAs ofruling Congress were disqualified by the Andhra PradeshSpeaker, the opposition BJP today said it would fieldcandidates on all the seats once the bypolls are announced.

Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manoharyesterday night disqualified the 16 Congress legislators whohad voted against the party government during a no-trustmotion in December last year. The MLAs were sailing withexpelled Congress leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.

"The party (BJP) is keen to contest the by-electionsfor all 16 seats," Andhra Pradesh BJP president G Kishan Reddytold reporters here.

When asked whether the party would support TelanganaRashtra Samithi (TRS) for the bypolls to be held for sevenAssembly constituencies on March 18, Reddy said the party wasyet to take a call on it.

"BJP has not yet decided on extending its support toTRS in areas where we (BJP) have not fielded nominees," hesaid, adding the party would contest one of the bypolls forMahaboobnagar seat.

Clarifying his party's stand on the proposed PolavaramIrrigation Project, Reddy, who was here to attend the meetingof state executive members and district presidents of thecoastal districts, said BJP endorses the proposed projectwhich is opposed by Telangana people.

BJP national executive member K Haribabu said theparty would launch agitations in the coastal districts topressurise the state government to complete pending irrigationprojects in the region.

He said the BJP would also hold protests for speedycompletion of the Vamsadhara project-II in Srikakulamdistrict, Thotapalli irrigation project in Vizianagaramdistrict, Polavaram project, Penna Delta modernisation inNellore district and Velugonda project in Ongole.
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