India: BJP’s surge in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation poll stuns TRS

 GHMC Results

Hyderabadn; 04 Dec 2020 (UMMN): BJP has emerged as the second-largest party in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections dislodging the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) from half of the seats it had held.

BJP seats went up from 4 in 2016 to 48, while the TRS numbers came down from 99 to 55 - well short of 65 seats to get the mayor’s post.

AIMIM retained its tally of 44 seats, while contesting 51 seats instead of 60 last time, and Congress’s tally stood at two, the same as in 2016.

Among the 48 seats won by the BJP, 6 are in the Muslim-dominated Charminar division.

Ballot papers were used in the GHMC elections instead of EVMs due to Covid-19 protocols.

“The party sees Telangana as one of the states where it has the most chance after Karnataka” said BJP president J P Nadda.

According to The Indian Express, the TRS also faces the unenviable prospect of depending on Owaisi’s party to retain control of the GHMC. KCR’s son K T Rama Rao, also the Municipal Administration Minister, said, “We lost several seats by a margin of very few votes, 100 or even just 70.”

Following another dismal performance by the Congress, its PCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy submitted his resignation, reported The Indian Express.