HYDERABAD: The mercury level in the political barometer has shot up after the Telangana State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday sounded the poll bugle for the battle for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
Though the number of divisions up for grabs is 150, what one is overlooking is the fact that there will be 52 ex-officio voters (MLAs, MLCs and MPs), who play a key role at the time of electing the mayor. This means a political party or an alliance should have more than 102 votes as the electoral college would be 202 (150+52) voters. Political parties have been working overtime to get their math right.
At the moment, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is in a sweet spot as it has 38 ex-officio members, which means that it could get its candidate elected as mayor if it wins just 64 divisions.
As it is contesting the election in alliance with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), it becomes much easier for the combine to get their candidate through, even if both of them fall short of numbers.
Juxtaposed to the TRS, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is now bidding for power in the GHMC, has miles to go before it can sleep as it has only three ex-officio members.
This means that it would have to win at least 99 seats and not a simple majority of the 150 divisions. On the other hand, the MIM has 10 ex-officio voters, while the Congress just one, and the same math applies to them too.
After uprooting the TRS from Dubbaka, the BJP has grown taller. Its victory is working like a tonic for the saffron party and an impression is gaining ground that it is slated to make smart gains, though the party honchos feel a sense of deja vu.
Party State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar said they will fly the saffron flag in Hyderabad, no matter what. "No one can stop us. We are winning," he said.
The BJP has reason to feel that it could make a go for power. This is because it vanquished Chief Minister KCR's daughter K Kavitha in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Nizamabad. The BJP had also vanquished another TRS heavyweight, T Harish Rao, by inflicting a defeat on the pink party in Dubbaka.
With the Chief Minister’s son and Municipal Minister, KT Rama Rao, taking the GHMC elections seriously, the BJP is raring to do a hat-trick by defeating the TRS convincingly in the current election.
It now has general secretary Bhupender Yadav, who had scripted victory for the NDA in Bihar, to guide the party to winning the poll. The TRS, once bitten twice shy, is trying to bear down on the BJP by not giving enough time for the party to organise itself to face the poll.
The TRS gave the go-ahead signal to the State Election Commission for conducting the poll much ahead of the end of the present council’s term on February 10. This has left the BJP with virtually no time for campaigning.
Though the BJP has been saying it is always battle-ready, it is feeling the heat as there will be hardly one week of campaigning in the divisions to win the hearts of the people. But the TRS, by announcing several sops to please the urban voters, is sitting pretty now.
The MIM, which is working in tandem with the TRS, is consolidating its hold in the Old City area, despite the BJP’s campaign that the party aims to convert entire Hyderabad into Old City and make it a fertile ground for communal discord.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and party leader in the Assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi are working overtime, consolidating their vote bank in the Old City. The Congress, which has struck a bad patch of late by losing election after election, is also trying to make its presence felt. After its humiliating defeat in Dubbaka, it is yet to pull itself together.
AICC in-charge for Telangana Manickam Tagore says they have long-term goals, like wresting power in the Assembly elections rather than fretting and fuming for immediate gains such as Dubbaka. The party leaders say they will make every effort to give its opponents a run for its money in the GHMC election.
TRS playing tricks
The TRS, once bitten twice shy, is trying to bear down on the BJP by not giving enough time for the party to organise itself to face the poll
Filing of nominations to start from Today
According to the notification released by TSEC Commissioner C Parthasarathi, the filing of nominations will start from Wednesday between 11 am and 3 pm, and the RO will display the electoral rolls at their respective offices from Wednesday. The last date for filing nominations is November 20, and these will be scrutinised on November 21
