Hyderabad: Battle lines have been drawn for elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the first to the local body since it has come into existence, next month as the state's ruling Congress party faces the first test of popularity in post - YS Rajasekhara Reddy era.
The tenure of the general body of the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, which was controlled by TDP-BJP combine, ended in February 2007 but the Congress government had put the elections on hold as it was in the process of merging 11 surrounding municipalities and some gram panchayats with MCH, thereby making it the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
The GHMC came into being in April 2007 but the elections were postponed due to a variety of reasons, including the need for delimitation of wards and some legal wrangle.
In the 2002 elections, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had won the Mayor post in a direct election in alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party which took the Deputy Mayor's post.
Majlis Ittehadul-e-Muslimeen (MIM) won 36 out of the 100 seats while TDP-BJP combine won 38 seats. Congress won 20.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti and Majlis Bachao Tehreek won two seats each while Telangana Sadhana Samiti won one seat.
Post-delimitation, GHMC has 150 seats and no electoral alliance has been formed between any party so far this time for the November 23 poll.
TDP is likely to align with Left parties for the election while Congress and MIM are likely to extend their tacit understanding for the GHMC polls as well.Lok Satta Party and Praja Rajyam Party--all new entrants in GHMC poll fray-?are likely to contest the elections on their own.
Congress starts the GHMC poll race with an advantage as the Mayor will be elected indirectly. The party has 14 MLAs, seven MPs and nine MLCs who, as ex-officio members of the GHMC, will decide who becomes the city Mayor.
Congress is going to the people on the development plank claiming it has launched projects worth Rs 5,555 crore in the last five years for the development of the city.
Though the ruling party claims that more than Rs600 crore worth of work has already been completed, the condition of roads, poor traffic management, sanitation conditions, erratic power and drinking water supply could weaken Congress' claims.
Both TDP and BJP have challenged the Congress to a debate on the development of Hyderabad saying not a single project worth the name has been completed in the last five years.
"Congress will have to do a lot of answering on the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project, the failure in taking up the second phase of Multi-Modal Transit System and the housing schemes", says BJP floor leader G Kishan Reddy.
State health minister and Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee president Danam Nagender, however, exuded confidence that the party would win 100 out of 150 seats in GHMC elections. "This will be a tribute to our late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and a gift to chief minister K Rosaiah," Nagender said.TDP has ruled out any truck with TRS for GHMC elections and said it would talk to Left parties for forging an alliance. It also indicated willingness to an alliance with actor Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party if the latter came up with a proposal.
"We will get 100 seats in this elections since it is our party that has developed Hyderabad to this level," TDP politburo member Nagam Janardhana Reddy claimed.
