Hung in GHMC: Lotus blooms as Pink pales

Hyderabad: The BJP's stunning victory in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls has worked well for the saffron party as it has now forced the TRS to have an understanding with the AIMIM to bag the seat of mayor. So far, the TRS did not need an ally to govern the Baldia. The results have shown that even the exit polls could not get the pulse of the people.

TRS, which had won 99 wards in 2016 GHMC polls, could not win more than 55 this time while BJP which had won only in four wards last time went up to 48.

Soon after the results were announced, the BJP justified the celebrations saying that it has finally succeeded in ending the domination of single party rule in GHMC. However, it now remains to be seen who would claim the credit for the success of the saffron party. Union Minister State for Home G Kishan Reddy was the party in-charge of GHMC elections while the state president Bandi Sanjay led the high-voltage campaign.

This sudden surge of BJP seats in GHMC come close to the victory it has tasted in the Dubbaka bypoll and this has now raised greater interest among voters as they will have to elect two MLC candidates in the Nalgonda and Hyderabad graduate constituencies, Warangal and Khammam municipal corporation elections and the by-election when held for the Nagarjuna Sagar assembly constituency.

In the initial trends, the BJP secured the highest number of postal votes during the counting held on Friday here. The TRS registered upper hand only after the election authorities began counting the votes polled from the ballot boxes. By the afternoon, the TRS was leading in 70 plus wards but towards the end of the day it won in only in 56 wards.

The ruling party retained majority seats in Kukatpally, Qutubullapur, Serlingampally and Sanatnagar assembly constituencies. The BJP has shown good performance in East Hyderabad in Uppal, LB Nagar , Malkajgiri and Maheshwaram assembly segments where the saffron party swept majority of the wards.

The MIM secured majority wards (44) in its stronghold of seven assembly segments which includes Charminar, Karwan and Chandrayanagutta among others. The Congress could win only two wards – AS Rao Nagar and Uppal. TPCC working president A Revanth Reddy, who represented the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha Segment failed to show his political dominance in his Parliamentary constituency. TRS won considerable number of wards in the Secunderabad Lok Sabha segment represented by Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy and Hyderabad MP and MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi established his stronghold in his Lok Sabha segment by winning majority number of seats for the third consecutive time after the formation of GHMC. In the 2010 and 2016 elections also, the MIM won more than 40 wards.