Number crunching started in , TRS ahead of GHMC polls, GHMC Polls, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation , Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election, local body polls , GHMC local body polls , State Election Commission,HC, Hyderabad Municipal Cor
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- Category: Andhra Pradesh Political News
- Last Updated: Saturday, 19 December 2015 11:01
Number crunching started in TRS ahead of GHMC polls, GHMC Polls, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation , Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election, local body polls , GHMC local body polls , State Election Commission,HC, Hyderabad Municipal Corporation , Hyderabad , Hyderabad polls , Number crunching, MLAs, MLCs, , MPs, Lok Sabha members, Rajya Sabha member, BJP,TDP
HYDERABAD: Much ahead of the announcement of elections for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) council, number crunching has already started in the TRS that is keen on securing the ruling party status in the elected council. Banking heavily on the votes of MLAs, MLCs, and MPs, who are the GHMC's ex-officio members, the TRS, sources said, wants to admit more legislators from opposition parties.
As ex-officio members, the MLAs, MLCs, and members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha belonging to the GHMC limits, have voting rights along with the elected councillors. The GHMC council is to have 150 councillors after the elections and 24 MLAs, eight MLCs, three Lok Sabha members, and one Rajya Sabha member will add to the strength of the council taking the total number to 186. By this calculation, a political party which crosses 93 mark would stake claim to the mayor post.
"Out of 36 ex-officio members, the majority is on our side, and the party is trying maximize the number. The work is underway," said a senior TRS leader.
"The TRS leaders are in touch with legislators from the opposition parties and openly offering then admission into their party. Unless we can stop these unethical defections, we are going to see the TRS taking the back door to power in the GHMC council," said BJP MLC N Ramachandra Rao, a member of the BJP-TDP election coordination committee.
The TRS started off with two MLAs in the GHMC limits after 2014 elections. But, the party now boasts of seven MLAs into its fold with five TDP legislators defecting to the TRS. The latest to switch the sides was the Secunderabad Cantonment MLA G Sayanna, who won on a TDP ticket but joined the TRS recently. The TRS leaders said more MLAs have been lined up to join their party. The TDP which had ten MLAs in the GHMC limits has been the main hunting ground for the TRS. The names of the TDP MLAs including KP Vivekananda Goud (Qutbullapur), T Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar), Arekepudi Gandhi (Serilingampalli), and R Krishnaiah (L B Nagar) are doing rounds among the potential defectors.
The BJP has five members the state assembly elected from the city limits. While the TRS appeared to have been aiming at dividing the national party, the BJP MLA from Goshamahal has already announced that he would launch a separate party to fight the GHMC polls. Even Khairatabad MLA from the BJP, Ch Ramachandra Reddy, is rumoured to have been tapped by TRS leaders.
As far as the MLCs eligible to vote in the GHMC council are concerned, of the eight from the city, four belong to the TRS and the ruling party leaders are reportedly in touch with a lone TDP member in the Legislative Council.
"The TRS is encouraging the MLCs to defect in order to muster the required number to with the GHMC council. But, their real design is to finish off the opposition parties. They are trying to deprive the Congress of the main opposition party status by alluring our MLCs," said Mohamad Ali Shabbir, senior Congress leader and leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council.
In the 40-member Council, the Congress has seven members at present. If the number goes below four, then the party will lose its main opposition party status.