Telugu Desam Party emerges stronger in GHMC

Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: The ruling Congress party suffered a huge set back even as the principal opposition Telugu Desam Party made a strong come back in the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. The Congress that hoped to win 100 out of the 150 seats in GHMC, ended up with a tally of just 52 – far away from the half-way mark – while the TDP bagged 45. The Majlis Ittehadul-e-Muslimeen retained its hold in the Muslim-dominated localities in the city, including the Old City, by winning 43 seats. The BJP, which desperately tried to regain lost glory in the city, was left badly bruised and managed only five seats. Actor Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party was decimated and with great difficulty opened its tally with a solitary win. The Lok Satta Party that came up with the slogan of “Governance at your doorstep” was fully routed. It drew a blank. Interestingly, two Congress “rebels” won from Bholakpur and Charlapalli divisions. They were among the four independents who made it to the GHMC in its maiden elections. Counting of votes, in the election held on November 23, was taken up today.
The final tally read thus: Congress-52; TDP-45; MIM-43; BJP-5; PRP-1 and Others-4.
The low turnout in the election left its impact on the fortunes of all parties. Though it was expected that the low turnout could indeed prove beneficial to the ruling party, the final analysis revealed otherwise as the Congress could not come even close to the half-way mark. Prior to the election the Congress projected a tally of 100 seats for itself but reduced it to 80-85 at the end of the polling. The end result has certainly come as a shocker to the ruling party leaders who banked heavily on the “development” agenda as well as the sympathy caused by the death of former Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. With 14 MLAs and three Lok Sabha members representing the Greater Hyderabad region, the Congress should have done well but the principal opposition TDP – which had only one MLA – dealt a telling blow to the former. Interestingly, the Congress’ trump card YS Jaganmohan Reddy failed to work any wonders as the party candidates lost in most of the civic divisions where he campaigned. Even in Assembly constituencies that were considered the strongholds of the Congress, the TDP made inroads by bagging majority of seats. In Maheshwaram constituency, represented by Home Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy, the TDP clinched both the civic wards while in LB Nagar constituency the TDP won seven out of the eight wards. In Kukatpally Assembly segment, represented by Lok Satta Party president N Jayaprakash Narayan, the TDP won five divisions and the Congress one. In the ultimate analysis, the TDP has emerged as the biggest beneficiary in the GHMC polls.