Municipal polls exposed that BJP, Congress are chums: Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao on TRS win

The mayoral election in Karimnagar, for which the counting took place on Monday, was a mere formality as the TRS got a clear majority.
TRS working president KT Rama Rao adressing at the press meet in Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad. (Photo| Sathya Keerthi, EPS)
TRS working president KT Rama Rao adressing at the press meet in Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad. (Photo| Sathya Keerthi, EPS)

HYDERABAD: As expected, the ruling TRS hit a century in the civic body polls, as it bagged 110 municipalities and 10 corporations after the elections to chairperson and mayor posts across the State on Monday.

However, the Congress and the BJP joined hands in three municipalities and managed to get a total of six civic bodies, while the MIM bagged two. The mayoral election in Karimnagar, for which the counting took place on Monday, was a mere formality as the TRS got a clear majority.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, TRS working president and Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao thanked the MIM for supporting the party in Nizamabad. He, however, termed the alliance between the Congress and the BJP in some municipalities as "unholy". "Despite the Congress and the BJP being national parties, they are indulging in silly politics here," Rama Rao said.

He recalled that the TRS had pointed out earlier that the Congress and the BJP had a tacit understanding to win the municipal polls. Rama Rao said the Congress sailed with the TDP in the Assembly polls, and joined hands with the BJP in the civic body polls.

"The BJP had termed the TRS as a Congress agent. But in the election of chairpersons, their true colours were exposed. It’s better for PCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy to sport BJP kanduva now," the Minister quipped.

On Monday, the election of chairpersons and mayors was held for 127 civic bodies of the total 129 civic bodies, for which elections were held on January 22. The election of chairpersons for Nereducharla and Medchal was postponed for Tuesday.

Of the 127 civic bodies, the TRS ward/division members were elected as chairpersons and mayors in 110 municipalities and nine corporations respectively. The TRS is confident of bagging Nereducharla and Medchal too. The Congress, the BJP and the MIM had to be satisfied with single digits. They failed to come to power even in a single corporation.

However, the interesting turn in the election of chairpersons was that the arch rivals, the Congress and the BJP,  joined hands in four municipalities. In Makthal, the BJP got support from the Congress in chairperson election.

In return, the BJP left the vice-chairperson post to Congress. In the chairperson election in Manikonda and Turkayamjal, the Congress got BJP’s support. The BJP ward members were elected as vice-chairpersons in Manikonda and Turkayamjal. Though, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in Nizamabad Corporation, the TRS division member was elected as mayor with the support of MIM corporators.

Caste equations

While declaring the chairperson/mayor candidates, the TRS followed caste equations. As many as 240 TRS ward members got chairman/vice-chairmen or mayor/deputy mayor posts. Of these, 38 OCs got chairperson posts and 46 OCs got vice-chairman posts.

SCs got 17 chairperson and nine vice-chairperson posts, while STs got five chairperson posts. Minorities got three chairperson and 14 vice-chairman posts. In SCs, the most backward sub-castes like Netagani, Budga Jangalu, Kummari, Patkari, Perika, Rajakam, Vadla, Vellapu, Reddika and Avusula got important posts.

For the chairperson posts, which were reserved for women (general), the TRS chose Goud, Perika, Munnuru Kapu, Padmasali and other castes in Khammam, Nalognda, and other municipalities.

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