The BJP’s Telangana unit alleged that the State Election Commission worked hand in glove with KTR-led TRS.
HYDERABAD: Ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) proved its might in Telangana once again by winning as many as 109 municipalities out of the total 120 and seven municipal corporations out of the total nine, elections to which were held on 22 January. Counting of votes through the ballot paper method was taken up on Saturday morning.
Opposition Congress and BJP, which aspired to emerge stronger in these urban elections, have ended up with a paltry number of four and three municipalities respectively. The All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which is an ally of TRS, won communally sensitive Bhaisa municipality in Adilabad district and the party is expected to back TRS in the Nizamabad municipal corporation for the mayor post.
Obviously, KTR got all the praise for the spectacular victory of TRS candidates when he visited the party head office, Telangana Bhavan, in Banjara Hills on Saturday evening. Party senior leaders and ordinary cadre raised slogans hailing him as the future leader of the party. KTR, however, credited the victory to the leadership of his father KCR. “People have endorsed their faith in our leader (KCR),” said KTR.
The elections involving around 60 lakh voters and with a 75 poll percentage have been expected to go the ruling party’s way. However, curiosity prevailed over the areas where the BJP and Congress fared better in the May 2019 Lok Sabha elections. BJP won four MPs, while Congress got three MPs. All eyes were focused on Nizamabad Municipal Corporation as BJP defeated KCR’s daughter Kavitha in Nizamabad LS seat.
BJP won 25 out of the total 60 divisions in Nizamabad Municipal Corporation, but TRS which won 13 divisions is expected to bag the mayor post with the help of its ally, AIMIM which got 18 divisions. Here, Congress won just one division. BJP MP Dharmapuri Aravind tried hard to get a BJP mayor in Nizamabad, but he failed.
So is the case with other opposition MPs. The Adilabad MP seat was won by BJP, but TRS secured all the four civic bodies in its limits. Congress MPs, too, couldn’t prove their might in their areas as TRS surged ahead across the state. The Opposition hopes that urban voters were matured and that they can put up an impressive show were belied.
However, the Opposition leaders described the victory of TRS as that of “money power” and “misuse of official machinery”. Congress’ Telangana working president and MP A. Revanth Reddy, who addressed the media on Saturday evening alleged that TRS had spent crore of rupees to bribe the voters and that officials had worked for the victory of the ruling party.
BJP’s Telangana unit president Dr K. Lakshman, too, leveled similar allegations against the TRS government and said that the State Election Commission (SEC) which supervised the civic polls had worked hand in glove with the ruling party. “Right from day one, the SEC had helped TRS and overlooked our complaints against the ministers and TRS MLAs,” said Lakshman.
These charges were rejected by Chief Minister KCR who, too, spoke to media later and said that the Opposition parties were not ready to comprehend the “consistent wave” in favour of TRS for the last one year. “We won the Assembly elections in December 2018 and Lok Sabha elections in May 2019 and now these civic polls, this is unprecedented,” KCR said.
KCR said that TRS cadre and leaders should remain humble in this victory and continue to work for the people. The Chief Minister said that all the elected members of the civic bodies would be trained to meet the challenges of rapid urbanisation.