GHMC elections

Telangana's Congress government is investing heavily in temple development and festivals, a move seen as a strategy to counter the BJP's religious politics. While Congress highlights its secular approach, including support for other religious events, the BJP accuses the ruling party of being anti-Hindu, citing alleged temple desecrations.

The Congress on Monday termed the GHMC-election manifesto of the ruling TRS as a bundle of lies and demanded that chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao should explain to the people why the promises made by the TRS in 2016-GHMC polls were not implemented so far.

BJP Telangana chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday said the party, if voted to power in ghmc elections, will carry out a surgical strike and send Rohingya away from the Old City, stoking a fresh controversy and drawing fire from all quarters.

Showering sops ahead of polls to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has announced that it would provide free water supply up to 20,000 litres from December if it is voted to power in the ghmc elections.

The Congress on Monday termed the GHMC election manifesto of the ruling TRS a bundle of lies and demanded that chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao should explain to the people why the promises made by the TRS in 2016 GHMC polls have not been implemented so far.

Launching his campaign in ghmc elections from Bouddha Nagar and other wards in Secunderabad zone on Monday, Telangana Congress president and Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy appealed to the voters to defeat the TRS, BJP and MIM. He alleged that TRS government was corrupt and charged BJP and MIM as parties promoting hatred on religious lines.

BJP’s win in Dubbak will not be short-lived and the verdict in ghmc elections will reflect the changing mindset of people towards the BJP, P Muralidhar Rao, party former national general secretary, tells Sribala Vadlapatla. A star campaigner of the party, the alumnus of OU says BJP’s constitutional nationalism is gaining prominence even in southern states. Excerpts from the interview

Telangana Congress working president and Malkajgiri MP A Revanth Reddy has appealed to the voters to give at least 70 of the total 150 wards in Greater Hyderabad to the opposition in the ghmc elections.

The Telangana government on Tuesday took the opposition by surprise by giving its go-ahead to hold the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections and bringing forward the entire process by almost two months.

Polling to the 150 wards of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation will be held on December 1 and counting of votes on December 4

With the presence of a considerable number of people of Andhra origin in the city and they may decide electoral fortunes of candidates in about 20 divisions (wards), all political parties, especially TRS and BJP, are trying to woo them.

Congress manifesto is promising to make efforts to regularise unauthorised plots and buildings under LRS and BRS schemes “free of cost” and scrap Dharani portal.

Telangana state election commissioner C Partha Sarathi on Monday directed GHMC commissioner-cum-election authority Lokesh Kumar to instruct all the private advertising agencies having leasing rights over metro rail pillars, toilets on footpaths and bus shelters in the city to provide equal opportunities to display their political advertisements whenever they approach for lease of advertisement space during GHMC election period.

Animal husbandry minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav said the TRS would secure 104 municipal divisions of 150 seats in the ghmc elections. He said the party would announce candidates for the ghmc elections on Wednesday.

Agitated over lack of development of open spaces, the electorate of Karthikeya Nagar in Nacharam have now taken a firm stand to opt for Nota in the ensuing Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections.

Cocking a snook at police bandobust for the ghmc elections, political activists had a field day on polling day on Tuesday. Late in the night, police arrested Malakpet MLA Ahmed Balala for trespassing into deputy chief minister Mahmood Ali’s residence-cum-TRS ward office and assaulting the latter’s son, Azam Ali.

Due to logistic issues, if the notification for the ghmc elections is not issued within the next week, then the polls can be held only after a month.

The emotionally charged, no-holds-barred campaign of the past week was not good enough to bring laid-back Hyderabadis to polling booths and vote in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections on Tuesday.