HYDERABAD: Flooding in Hyderabad due to heavy rains in the months of September, October and November seems to have played an important role in turning the tide against TRS and in favour of BJP in the GHMC polls. In most of the flood-affected areas, the BJP candidates have won the contest.
In fact, many areas in the LB Nagar zone of GHMC had suffered due to inundation and flooding, followed by the overflowing of encroached lakes and stormwater drains.
Areas such as Saroornagar (where a man died after he was swept away into the Saroornagar lake while riding a two-wheeler), Gaddiannaram, Champapet, Nagole, Vanasthalipuram, Kothapet, Hasthinapuram and Chaitanyapuri were among of the most affected by floods and the BJP won in all of these areas.
Not just the flood-affected areas of LB Nagar zone, BJP candidates have also won in flood-affected areas in other parts of the city, such as Jiyaguda, Malkajgiri, Gudimalkapur, Moosapet, Jeedimetla, Moosarambagh etc.
Apart from the misery caused by floods, there was also palpable anger among many people in these areas regarding the distribution of Rs 10,000 flood-relief.
It may be recounted that the distribution of relief was marred by accusations of TRS corporators distributing only a part amount of the money.
There were even accusations that corporators were displaying partisan attitude by distributing relief only among the persons known to be close to the corporators or the TRS party. Many videos surfaced on social media with such accusations.
On top of this, many people, even those who were not affected by the floods, were left feeling angry when the distribution of flood-relief money was stopped by the State Election Commission. All this anger surrounding the floods and flood-relief money is expected to have made people vote for the BJP, which promised to distribute `25,000 flood-relief. Also it is the only party to exclusively promise in its manifesto the removal of all existing encroachments over stormwater drains and lakes in the city.