Battle royal kicks off for Baldia

The TRS which never had any strong presence in Hyderabad is way ahead of others in unleashing a feverish campaign to secure mayoral post, with or without MIM support. Opposition parties, stumped by the TRS govt which cut poll schedule, won a legal battle in getting the poll GO stayed by the HC. They are still left with little time to sew up alliances and arrive at seat sharing before entering the poll arena

The real battle for Baldia has begun with the State Election Commission unveiling the schedule for GHMC elections. This being the first election for the GHMC after the formation of Telangana State, it not only assumes importance but has also seen many interesting twists and turns.

The TRS which so far has not had any presence in the capital city is feverishly working out plans to establish its supremacy over other political parties. It is not leaving any stone unturned and has cast its sights firmly on the mayor’s post. Right now it is much ahead of others, with CM’s son K Taraka Rama Rao and daughter Kavitha leading the charge.

The opposition parties like the Congress, TDP and BJP which happen to be the main players are naturally peeved over the ruling party gaining an early lead, as it has been privy to official information like reservations. Their tensions were exacerbated and they saw red when the government tried to reduce the number of days for the poll process from 45 to 15 days.

However, quickly recovering their wits, the opposition in no time hit back at the government. They wasted no time in knocking on the doors of the court and succeeded in having their way by getting the GO stayed. The Court verdict upholding their stance boosted their morale and they have set about zeroing in on winning horses quickly. The polls to the civic body in Hyderabad also assume significance in view of the size and demographic profile of the city.

There are as many as 24 Assembly Constituencies under the GHMC limits. A majority of the Assembly segments under the GHMC limits were won by the opposition Congress, TDP-BJP nominees in the last elections. But in the post-bifurcation scenario, some of the TDP and the Congress leaders and the MLAs switched loyalty to the TRS.

The TRS had kicked off its campaign for the GHMC elections much ahead of its rivals with a number of hoardings on the government achievements installed at vantage points in the city. The TRS government had also showered sops on the people like property tax exemption for certain sections and other decisions like regularisation of contract staff and fresh recruitment in government departments.

The ruling party is harping on its pet scheme of two bedroom houses for all sections to help it secure a comfortable majority. The opposition parties feel that people from Seemandhra region in the city are a decisive factor in deciding the political fortunes of many key players in the ensuing GHMC elections. A majority of them are concentrated within the limits of HMDA spread over five to six Assembly constituencies out of the 24 constituencies under the GHMC limits.

During the Telangana movement, this section of the people were under the grip of fear following the fiery speeches, targeting them, by TRS leaders and the bogey of threat to their lives and property was raised by some political parties. But now the passions have died down and as peace prevailed in the post-bifurcation scenario, the TRS is trying to convert this into an advantage for the party and is going all-out to assure this section that they are now an integral part of the Telangana State.

The opposition, on the other hand, is also trying to woo this section by harping on the statements made by the TRS leaders. It remains to be seen whether this section of the society would sail with the ruling party or not. The real litmus test for all the political parties has just begun. With just three days left for the nominations to begin, the opposition parties have a herculean task in regard to selection of candidates as the notification for reservation of wards was also announced only on Friday. Of the 150 wards, 75 are reserved for women.

The opposition parties have very little time to decide on the candidates. This definitely has put the opposition parties at a slight disadvantageous position vis-a-vis the ruling party which appears to be fully geared up for the elections. Though the opposition parties had also launched poll campaign, the reservation schedule will force them to rework their strategies. In the case of TDP and BJP, the two parties will also have to speed up the process of seat-sharing and take up damage-control exercise in case of dissension in their ranks.

Though the TRS and the MIM are alliance partners, in the Baldia elections they are fighting separately, and this too appears to be a strategic move. The TRS which is expecting to win about 80 seats out of 150 wants to have its own mayor who would last a full term. But in the event of the ruling party not getting so many seats, even then they can win the mayor seat in alliance with the MIM just as the Congress party had done in the last elections in the undivided Andhra Pradesh.