TRS Sweeps GHMC Polls With Absolute Majority

The ruling TRS turned all predictions of its adversaries topsy-turvy in the GHMC elections by convincingly capturing 99 divisions, and thus firmly established its power and supremacy in one of the biggest municipal corporations of the country.

What is more, by having secured an absolute majority in the 150-division corporation, the TRS can comfortably occupy the prestigious and coveted Mayor and Deputy Mayor positions on its own.

The MIM came second by capturing 44 seats, while the TDP-BJP combine had to be content with 5 seats.

The biggest and most humiliating defeat was suffered by the Congress, which managed to win just 2 divisions.

The TRS, which did not contest the 2009 elections, not only won a record number of seats in its maiden GHMC elections, its speeding "car" completely crushed the Congress which had won 53 seats in the last elections and shared power with the MIM, which had then bagged 43 wards.

Even the TDP and BJP, which had together won 50 wards in the past, now had to be content with just 5 seats.

The MIM stayed stable at 44 seats (it had 43 in the previous GHMC).

The TRS victory undoubtedly goes to the credit of KCR's son, IT Minister K T Rama Rao, who had relentlessly campaigned in all the divisions and successfully impressed the citizens that Hyderabad could become a global city only under the TRS rule.

The results appear to show that even the Seemandhra people, who had their apprehensions about the pink Party, seemed to have decided that their best interests were in the victory of the TRS. This change of heart among them are perhaps due to the efforts of KTR, who diligently and convincingly wooed them.

Among the prominent winners in the elections are Majid Hussain of the MIM who had served as Mayor in the previous GHMC; Gadwala Vijayalakshmi, daughter of TRS Secretary-General K Keshav Rao; P Vijaya Reddy (TRS), daughter of late Congress leader P Janardhan Reddy; Srinivas Reddy (TRS), son-in-law of Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy; TRS MLA Kanaka Reddy's daughter-in-law Vijayashanthi; and Anitha Reddy, daughter-in-law of former Mayor and TRS leader Teegala Krishna Reddy.

Former Mayor and Congress nominee Banda Karthika Reddy lost the elections, and did former Congress Minister Mukesh Goud's son Vikram Goud (also the Congress' mayorial candidate) and daughter Shilpa Goud.

The counting of votes was conducted in 24 centres, and in each centre the counting for 6 to 10 divisions was taken up. The counting process involved 873 rounds at 1,674 tables. The counting process began with the taking up of postal ballots at around 3 pm first, and continued till the night. In view of the re-polling in the Puranapul division till 5 pm, there was a bar on the announcing of the results till the end of the repoll.

Unprecedented and tight security arrangements were made at all the counting centres, and even cell phones were not allowed inside. Apart from enforcing Section 144 CrPC at all the centres, the police also banned the bursting of crackers and celebrations of any sort, including the taking out of rallies by the winning candidates.