Battle of high stakes for TRS in Hyderabad after Dubbaka debacle
Just like in the 2018 Assembly elections, the ruling TRS on Tuesday pulled off a surprise by advancing the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s (GHMC) poll schedule. Voting will happen on December 1, which is less than two weeks from now.
Earlier indications were the TRS would wait till the relief and repair works necessitated by the recent heavy rains and floods are over, so as to seek a fresh mandate on the development card. For, there is ample time for the electoral process as it has to be wrapped up only by February 10. But the BJP wresting the Dubbaka Assembly seat a few days ago apparently changed the dynamics, as the TRS decided to use its first-mover advantage in the local body polls to restrict the challenger’s preparation time.
Hyderabad is a fort of the TRS and Owaisi’s AIMIM, and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is pulling out all the stops to ensure it stays that way. But the BJP is optimistic, as it feels the political landscape in Hyderabad is fast changing in its favour. Of the 150 divisions in the GHMC, the BJP is hoping to do well in at least 75—an ambitious jump since 2016 when it could barely muster four.
The party has already deputed seasoned general secretary Bhupender Yadav, who scripted the NDA’s triumph in the Bihar elections, to manage the Hyderabad polls, indicating how serious it is in extending its footprint at the micro level.
KCR’s ability to strike a pre-emptive blow on the BJP and the Congress was facilitated by the fact that the law mandates the State Election Commission (SEC) to seek the CM’s concurrence on the poll dates. The party exploited it by announcing loads of sops, camouflaging them as Covid-19 and rain-ravage balms, like the property tax rebate, salary hikes, offering Rs 10,000 to each flood-hit family and regularising contract lecturers—before giving the poll green light.
For municipal minister K T Rama Rao, who is widely considered KCR’s heir apparent, his ability to deliver would be seen from the TRS performance in the GHMC elections. There are already indications that the party may drop at least 30% of its sitting corporators. The city is poised for a tough contest and the reputation of the TRS is at stake.