KHAMMAM: The ruling TRS has once again swept the Khammam municipal corporation (KMC) elections. The party won 43 out of 60 divisions, while the Congress won nine, CPI won three, CPM won two, the Independents won two and the JP opened its account in KMC by winning one division.
The TRS improved upon its tally of 34 in the previous elections, while the Congress had won 10 last time. CPI, which contested in only three divisions and had forged an alliance wth the ruling party, won three.
The BJP, which won a single seat, also improved from last time, when it had lost its deposit. The CPM retained the seats it had won earlier.The TRS' strategy of appealing to voters with the development plank seems to worked for it. Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar, MP Nama Nageswara Rao, former MP Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and other MLAs had held vigorous campaigns for the candidates.
CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka had campaigned by highlighting the ruling party’s alleged failures, but his pitch does not seem to have worked in many divisions. Though the Congress has an alliance with CPM and TDP, it contested alone in 48 divisions and had expected to win 15-20 seats.
Congress party town president Mahamood Javed said the party lost about eight divisions with a very small margin of around 100 votes. The CPM contested in 12 divisions and won two, while the TDP contested in one division but failed to win it.
The BJP had entered the KMC elections with huge expectations, and had contested in as many as 47 divisions with support of the Janasena party. Party State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and others had campaigned extensively, but seemingly failed to attract voters.
Another factor that helped the TRS was that as many as 7 incumbent corporators from Congress and two from YSRCP joined the TRS. Meanwhile, Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar thanked voters for making the the TRS win haandsomely.