Local body polls set stage for battle of Hyderabad
The municipal election results in Telangana have brought much-needed relief to the ruling Congress, which over the last few months was battling the opposition’s charges on various issues including alleged corruption. More than anything else it has reaffirmed that, despite claims to the contrary, the Revanth Reddy government still commands public support.
Of the 116 municipalities and seven corporations, at the time of going to press, the Congress was well on its way to winning a majority of both. It is true that the ruling party usually has an edge in local polls. But for the Congress to pull this off in a triangular contest is a substantial morale booster. It can also draw satisfaction from consolidating its position in contrast to the BJP and the BRS, which were forced to move some of their candidates to ‘safe resorts’ to avoid crossovers. The results should empower the chief minister to have his way in reshuffling the cabinet and give him confidence in the battle for Greater Hyderabad’s three corporations, within whose limits the Congress did not win a single seat in the 2023 assembly elections. The victory also raises the bar—the government must now deliver on its promises for water supply, sanitation, drainage, roads and other civic infrastructure. The six guarantees, too, cannot remain mere campaign rhetoric.
For the BRS, the outcome is a sobering reminder of the shifting ground realities. Once the dominant force in Telangana politics under K Chandrasekhar Rao, it appears diminished after ceding ground to both the Congress and the BJP. Defections and internal rifts had eroded its base; now the municipal results have exposed its structural weaknesses. The beleaguered party will face a litmus test in the Greater Hyderabad elections this summer as a setback in the capital would push it further down the slippery slope.
The BJP, on the other hand, has a reason to smile though its overall performance was weaker than expected—its performance in the corporations. But despite wielding the massive party apparatus, including campaigning by its national president, the party could not live up to the expectations. If it wants to be a serious contender at the next assembly polls, the BJP needs to focus more on development narratives and rein in the polarising communal rhetoric of some of its leaders.