HYDERABAD: Greater Hyderabad has its new mayor and deputy mayor. Mohammed Majid Hussain of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and Golkonda Raj Kumar of Indian National Congress (INC) have been unanimously elected as the second new mayor and deputy mayor of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). Earlier MIM had its mayor during the period of 1986-1991.
Selection of the candidates by their respective parties surprised many including their own party corporators and leaders. Moreover, the winning candidates expressed their surprise over their selection to the top posts of the city where senior corporators from the two parties made all efforts to bag the top posts till last minute. MIM ignored strong contenders and instead they picked up Majid Hussain and Raj Kumar hailing from weaker section for the top civic posts.
Hussain represents the Ahmednagar Division and Raj Kumar represents Kavadiguda Division.
Majid's candidature was proposed by MIM’s Doodhbowli corporator MA Ghaffar and seconded by former mayor Banda Karthika Reddy. In a span of 15 minutes, the election process was completed and 31-year-old Majid Hussain was declared the new mayor.
Later, Congress floor leader Kaleru Venkatesh proposed and MIM’s Mohammad Nazeeruddin seconded the candidature of Kavadiguda corporator Raj Kumar for the post of deputy mayor. He too was unanimously elected.
They succeeded B Kartika Reddy of the Congress and Jaffer Hussain of the MIM respectively who resigned last month. The two alliance partners swapped the posts at the end of two years under the pact they reached after GHMC polls in November 2009. The mayor and deputy mayor for the last one year will be decided mutually by the two parties.
Of the 216-member council which comprises 150 corporators and 66 ex-officio members, including legislators and members of parliament, about 133 members attended the meeting.
But, TDP and BJP came to the meeting and did not sign the registers. Most of the ex-officio members from Congress and MIM skipped the meeting, even MIM Party president and MP, Asaduddin Owaisi and MIM floor leader in Assembly too did not attend the meeting. As part of power-sharing agreement, the MIM will contest for the mayor’s post while the Congress will field its candidate for the deputy mayor’s post.