Published 23:30 IST, December 4th 2020
GHMC elections: BJP makes big gains as TRS falls well short of majority, AIMIM kingmaker
The 2020 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation poll results threw up a big surprise with BJP managing to prevent the ruling TRS from securing a majority.
On Friday, the 2020 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election results threw up a big surprise with BJP managing to prevent the ruling TRS from securing a majority. While the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led party emerged as the single-largest party by winning 55 seats, it was a significant climbdown from winning 99 wards in the 2016 GHMC polls. In contrast, BJP won 48 wards, which is 12 times the number of divisions it bagged in the previous election.
Most importantly, the highlight of this election was that BJP surpassed AIMIM's tally to become the second-largest party in the GHMC. AIMIM won the same number of wards (44) as the 2016 GHMC polls with a superior strike rate. On the other hand, the electoral woes for Congress continued after its candidates secured a victory from only two wards, the same as last time.
Meanwhile, the result for the Neredmet ward has been withheld owing to an order of the Telangana High Court order. In this ward, the TRS candidate is reportedly leading by 505 votes. In this election, TRS contested in all 150 wards, BJP in 149, Congress in 146, TDP in 106 and AIMIM in 51. As no party has secured a clear majority in the GHMC, there is speculation about TRS seeking AIMIM's support. However, both TRS working president KT Rama Rao and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi refused to comment on this possibility.
The GHMC election campaign
In a departure from its usual low profile in Hyderabad, BJP went all guns blazing in the GHMC poll campaign. This comes in the wake of the party's victory in 4 Telangana Lok Sabha seats and the Dubbak Assembly constituency. Post the NDA's success in Bihar, BJP named its General Secretary Bhupender Yadav as its in-charge of the GHMC polls. Moreover, key BJP leaders including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president J P Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, MoS (Home) G Kishan Reddy and BJYM national president Tejaswi Surya played a crucial role in the election campaign.
BJP highlighted the alleged misgovernance of the ruling TRS-AIMIM, citing their mismanagement of the situation arising out of the recent floods in Hyderabad for instance. Divisive issues such as action against illegal Rohingyas and the proposed renaming of Hyderabad to Bhagyanagar also cropped up during the campaign. On the other side of the spectrum, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi addressed numerous public meetings and hit back at BJP. Additionally, TRS leaders including Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, his son KT Rama Rao and daughter K Kavitha too fought a spirited campaign.
Updated 16:03 IST, December 5th 2020