Battle lines are drawn for the crucial elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to be held on December 1.
The schedule to this effect was released by Telangana state election commissioner K Parthsarathy on Tuesday morning.
According to the schedule, the notification for the elections will be issued on Wednesday, when the nomination process will begin.
Nominations are accepted till November 20 and there will be scrutiny the following day. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is November 22, when the list of candidates and their symbols would be announced.
The polling will be held on December 1 from 7 am to 6 pm. If necessary, repoll will be held on December 3. The polling will be held through ballot papers. Counting of votes will take place on December 4 and the results would be declared by 4 pm on the same day.
For the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, these elections are a matter of prestige because it is not the question of winning alone, but also of retaining the present number of seats. Any drastic fall in the number of seats is nothing short of humiliation for the TRS.
That is precisely why the TRS going all out to attract voters. Decisions like 50 per cent rebate in property tax up to Rs 15,000 for the citizens in the name of Diwali gift, distribution of Rs 10,000 in cash to the rain-hit people of the city, hurried opening of double-bedroom houses for the weaker sections, inauguration of parks, recarpeting of roads on war-footing are all part of the ruling party’s strategy to lure the voters.
For the Bharatiya Janata Party, too, these elections are very crucial to gain a strong footing in Telangana and emerge as a potential alternative to the TRS in the next assembly elections.
The recent win in Dubbak by-elections has given a new energy to the party, which is roping in top leaders from the Centre to work out strategies for the GHMC polls under the aegis of Secunderabad MP and Union minister of state for home G Kishan Reddy.
Since the GHMC covers around 20 assembly constituencies, if the BJP can win at least 35-40 municipal divisions in the GHMC elections, it can expect to bag at least five to six MLA seats in the next assembly elections.
For the Congress, it is the last chance to salvage its lost prestige. The party has just two seats in the last GHMC elections. It has to ensure that the party doesn’t get wipe out completely.