GHMC Polls 2020: The key contest is expected to be among TRS, AIMIM and BJP.GHMC Polls 2020 Latest Update: The electorates of Hyderabad on Tuesday voted to elect the mayor for the city which is witnessing three-way fight among ruling TRS, AIMIM and the BJP. The polling for 150 wards began at 7 am and would end at 6 pm. About 74.5 lakh voters exercised their franchise using ballot papers to elect their representatives for the GHMC. Over 1100 candidates are in the fray for 150-ward corporation.
Key players
Among the key parties vying for the mayor post in the city are KCR’s TRS, Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress. The key contest is expected to be among TRS, AIMIM and BJP. The BJP carried out an aggressive campaign by deploying its top national leaders like Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, Devendra Fadnavis, Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar, and Tejashvi Surya. On the last day of campaign, Amit Shah visited the city and held a massive roadshow.
Candidates and wards
For the 150-member GHMC, 1,122 candidates from different political parties are in the fray. The city of Hyderabad is divided into six zones — Charminar, LB Nagar, Kukatpally, Serilingampally, Secunderabad and Khairatabad. Each zone is further divided into circles, currently thirty in total. The circles are then subdivided into 150 wards.
How parties fared in 2016
In the last elections, TRS won 99 wards, AIMIM 44, BJP 4, Congress 2 and TDP 1. In the previous elections held in 2009, the Congress had bagged 52 wards, TDP 45, AIMIM 43 and the BJP 4. This time, the saffron party is hoping to better its tally as its vote share has gone up in the state. Its confidence has also gone up after winning election in the Dubbak Assembly constituency.
BJP’s rise in Telangana
The BJP has been consistently improving its tally in Telangana. In 2018 assembly polls, the BJP had won only 1 seat with just little over 7 per cent vote share. But just a year later in the Lok Sabha polls, it won 4 parliamentary seats with 19.45 per cent vote share. The BJP had also won a high-profile Nizamabad seat, where Arvind Dharmapuri defeated KCR’s daughter K Kavitha.
Decline of Congress
In the last assembly polls held in 2018, the Congress, which was in alliance with the TDP, won 19 seats with 28.43 per cent vote share. But in 2019, the Congress fell behind the BJP in terms of seats, and could win just 3 seats with 29.48 per cent vote share. In the current GHMC polls, the Congress appears to be out of contest with the BJP emerging as challenger to TRS and AIMIM.
Heated campaign
The BJP’s campaign was led by Home Minister Amit Shah, while Asaduddin Owaisi spearheaded the campaign for AIMIM. The ruling TRS’ campaign was led by its working president and state Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao whereas Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao addressed some public meetings. The Congress campaign was led by its state president N Uttam Kumar Reddy and working president A Revanth Reddy. The TDP sought to revive its fortunes highlighting the development witnessed in the city during N Chandrababu Naidu’s regime as chief minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
What BJP promised in Hyderabad
Home Minister Amit Shah recently said that Hyderabad has the potential to become an IT hub. He said that the infrastructure development has to be done by the municipal corporation even though funds are given by State and Centre. He said that the BJP would make Hyderabad an IT hub. Shah also said that the BJP would free Hyderabad from the Nawab, Nizam culture and create a mini-India there. “We want to build Hyderabad into a modern city, free from the shackles of Nizam culture,” he added. The Home Minister also promised that the BJP would move Hyderabad from dynastic politics to democracy, unlike KCR and Owaisi who promote people from their families.
The counting of votes will take place on December 4.
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