Morning Pulse: Poll schedule due at 11:30, but the allies still have not split the seats

The condition the State Election Commission set last evening appears to have been met overnight, and the alliance's bargaining is now running into it. ETV Bharat and Andhra Jyothy report that the Commission will release the local body election schedule at 11:30 this morning in Vijayawada, with gazette notifications from all districts already in hand. The TDP, Jana Sena and BJP, meanwhile, ended a meeting at the chief minister's camp office after midnight without a final seat-sharing decision. The partners may have only a few hours between settling their split and the start of the contest.

Two of the items on our watch list moved in one night. The government published the reservations for all 28 zilla parishad chairperson posts late on Tuesday through a gazette issued by the Panchayat Raj commissioner, Andhra Jyothy and ETV Bharat reported. Both outlets give the same broad split: six posts for Backward Classes, five for Scheduled Castes, three for Scheduled Tribes, and the rest unreserved, with at least half of the 28 set aside for women. Andhra Jyothy said the BC share was fixed at 23.08 per cent. The two outlets differ on which districts are women's seats, so we are not listing them by district until the official gazette is available.

Andhra Jyothy reports the schedule will run in three phases: urban local bodies first, then MPTC and ZPTC elections, then gram panchayats. It says the municipal notification may come today, with nominations from Thursday. The Commission has not yet confirmed the phasing; that will come at 11:30. Once the schedule is out, the model code of conduct is expected to apply, which limits fresh government announcements.

The night meeting we flagged yesterday did take place, and it did not end the matter. ETV Bharat said Chandrababu Naidu, TDP state president Palla Srinivasa Rao and minister Nimmala Ramanaidu were among those at the table, and that Jana Sena and BJP leaders will return at 10 am. Andhra Jyothy reported a rough agreement on how many seats each party gets but not on which ones. According to its account, Jana Sena asked for six of the 17 corporations and 26 municipalities, while the TDP offered four corporations and up to 24. The BJP is likely to get one mayor's post and 10 municipal chair posts, the paper reported. None of the three parties has confirmed these figures.

The friction is about more than numbers. The Hans India reported that Jana Sena complained it was not consulted before the reservations were fixed, because some corporations it wanted are now reserved in ways that narrow its choices; Kakinada and Machilipatnam were named. Naidu has reportedly said the reservations cannot be changed now. In Tirupati, Deccan Chronicle found TDP and Jana Sena aspirants lining up for the general-category mayor's post, with a BJP claim possible.

Vijayawada adds a twist. Former MLA Vangaveeti Radhakrishna, son of the late Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga, is expected to join Jana Sena today in Pawan Kalyan's presence, Andhra Jyothy reported. HMTV also reported the likely move, with his name floated for Vijayawada mayor, but said the joining had not been officially confirmed. Neither Jana Sena nor Radha has made a public statement.

In Hyderabad, Kadapa MP YS Avinash Reddy is due before the Enforcement Directorate today in the money-laundering angle of the 2019 murder of YS Vivekananda Reddy, Andhra Jyothy and Deccan Chronicle reported. His father appeared yesterday. Neither man has been convicted, and the ED has not commented. We found no report of an order on the ED's plea for a day-to-day trial in the Jagan Mohan Reddy cases, and no outcome from the Krishna water talks with Tamil Nadu.

Beyond politics, the government issued a short DSC notification for 2,721 teacher posts on Tuesday night, ETV Bharat and NTV Telugu reported; recruitment will be through a computer-based test, with full details due later. AVS Raju, founder-chairman of the NCC Group and a Padma Shri recipient born in Konaseema, died in Hyderabad at 89, Deccan Chronicle and ETV Bharat reported. President Droupadi Murmu is due at the Kanaka Durga temple on Indrakeeladri at about 7:10 pm, and darshan will pause for half an hour, both live blogs said.