Telangana in poll mode

Hyderabad: Undeterred by the threat of corona pandemic, election fever is gripping Telangana. With the elections to the GHMC, Warangal and Khammam Municipal Corporations and two MLC posts from Graduate Constituencies scheduled to be held during early 2021, all political parties are moving into election mode. The ruling TRS has already taken up a survey to ascertain the party's winning prospects and the Opposition Congress is busy holding talks with like-minded parties to forge a pre-poll alliance. The BJP and AIMIM say they will go alone in the elections.

Having taken the polls as a prestigious issue and as it does not want to give any space to the Opposition, TRS working president KT Rama Rao is leaving no stone unturned to see that the party is once again back in civic bodies with thumping majority. The target of the TRS is to win 100 out of 150 divisions in the GHMC. In the last elections, the TRS had won 99 wards. The TRS feels that the launch of 2-BHK housing complex for poor constructed in Greater Hyderabad limits before going in for the elections will be a game changer in the GHMC.

"KTR is striving hard to fulfill all promises made to the people mainly housing for poor, sanitation and hassle-free transport facility through SRDP and road widening," a senior TRS leader said, adding that the party is already analysing the performance of all its members and finalise the names of winning horses soon. The party is also confident of winning the Warangal and Khammam Corporations as the ministers and local MLAs were conducting regular reviews of local developmental programmes.

The Congress and BJP State units are already vying to show their political might by exposing the government's failures during the corona crisis and the local civic problems. TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy has begun exercise to appoint division level party in-charges from the state party committee to finalise the candidates and address the internal squabbles in the party. The proposal to join hands with Left parties and Telangana Praja Samithi is under consideration to fight the elections in the three corporations. The Congress could win only 2 wards in the last elections. The TPCC leadership is awaiting the arrival of newly-appointed Telangana Congress in-charge Manickam Tagore to Hyderabad. Leaders said Tagore will decide the Congress fortunes.

Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy is likely to take the responsibility of BJP's victory in the GHMC elections since he holds the grip in many wards in and outside the Secunderabad Lok Sabha segment from where he was elected as MP. State BJP president B Sanjay is conducting regular visits to Khammam and Warangal and activated party cadre. Separate party committees are being constituted to ensure party's victory in more number of wards. The BJP secured only 4 seats in the previous elections and the party leadership is desperate to increase the tally this time.

The second biggest party in the Corporation- AIMIM, which had won 44 seats in 2016 elections, was moving fast to consolidate its presence in the Muslim-dominated segments.