Hyderabad: The BJP’s surprise move to field the party candidate in the MLC election to Hyderabad Local Authorities Constituency (LAC) has raised the political heat. The saffron party has announced Gautham Rao as its candidate and the AIMIM candidate Mirza Riyaz Ul Hasan filed nominations on the last day on Friday. While Congress and BRS stayed away, the BJP and MIM are fighting the elections.

As per the official records, the total number of registered voters are 116 which included 81 GHMC Corporators and 35 ex-officio members in Hyderabad. The half-way mark is 59. The ex-officio members include 15 MLAs, the Hyderabad and Secunderabad MPs, Rajya Sabha members and MLCs who have registered their vote in Hyderabad.

The AIMIM alone was maintaining the strength of 49, including 40 corporators, seven MLAs, an MP, and an MLC. The Congress has 13 members. The BJP and the BRS together have 54.

Leaders said that the Congress already assured the MIM leadership its support to its candidate in the elections. With this, the total number of voters supporting the MIM would be 62, which is more than 50 per cent of the total voters.

Though the BJP was not having adequate number of voters to win the elections, leaders said that the party adopted a pressure tactics to show its hold in the Greater Hyderabad limits by fielding the candidate.

The BJP won the two MLC seats in the recently held Karimangar graduate constituency Warangal Teachers constituency by defeating the Congress candidates. The BRS stayed away from the elections.

The BJP’s strategy to contest the MLC elections without BRS in the fray raised doubts on the BRS ‘secret support’ to the saffron party like in the recently held MLC elections. Sources said the BJP was hoping cross voting may change the fortunes of its candidate in the crucial elections and give tough fight to the ruling Congress and its ally AIMIM in the elections.