GHMC Elections 2020: Parties keep manifestoes close to chest

Hyderabad: Vote for 'Car' will be the vote for taking the happening and global city to the next level. People can expect to get the best of civic amenities, public transportation, pollution-free environment, maintaining communal harmony, safety of citizens, protection of lakes and water bodies from encroachments and will make the city the best destination for investments. These are some of the promises the TRS is likely to make in its manifesto to be released between November 27 and 29.

Though the TRS is almost ready with its manifesto, it does not want to be the first one to release. It has adopted a wait-and-watch policy so that it can fine-tune it depending on what the opposition would offer to the citizens. The TRS feels that the BJP, which is desperate to display its strength in the GHMC polls, may come up with many freebies. It has already said that it would give Rs 25,000 for the flood-affected people and for those who lost costly goods like cars and furniture would get compensation to buy new vehicles and other damaged goods. The TRS has made this as a campaign issue and is going to people saying that the BJP was making promises which cannot be implemented.

TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao has embarked on an exercise to find out the gaps in the last six years of TRS rule in GHMC and would come out with time-bound promises and assurances regarding the unfulfilled promises in the manifesto. The TRS in the 2016 election had promised free WiFi but it remained on paper and the scheme did not move forward. Wherever it was introduced on an experimental basis, it did not work properly.

The TRS will also promise that it would adopt a tough stand against all those who had encroached the water bodies by taking up construction activity and would mercilessly demolish the illegal structures so that the city will not have to face the kind of situation it did during the recent floods. The party seems to have decided to keep fine-tuning the manifesto till the BJP and Congress make their manifestoes public.

The BJP on the other hand would promise implementation of Urban Development missions launched by the Union government and housing for all. The backroom boys of the saffron party are burning midnight oil to see that their promises appear to be real and would succeed in convincing people. Senior party leaders -- BJP national OBC wing president K Laxman and Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy -- are among the core team which is preparing the manifesto. It is also likely to make promise of developing the Old City.

As far as Congress is concerned, TPCC working president A Revanth Reddy is said to be giving finishing touches to the party manifesto and is likely to talk more about civic issues.