Telangana municipal elections: Congress offers mayor, municipal chairperson posts to TRS rebels

HYDERABAD: In a clever strategy to outwit TRS, Congress is offering posts of municipal chairperson and deputy chairperson, mayor and deputy mayor to TRS rebels having winning prospects.
The strategy is aimed at stopping the TRS rebels from going back to the ruling party after it started cajoling them to win the top posts. Congress is issuing a whip to the party members to vote for the candidates nominated by the party for these posts, sources said.
Corporators and councillors will elect one among them as mayor and chairperson and their deputies as it is an indirect election for these posts. The State Election Commission has notified that indirect elections to mayors and chairpersons and their deputies will be held on January 27.
If election of mayor and chairperson is not possible on January 27, the indirect election will be completed the following day. Also, the election of deputy mayor and deputy chairperson shall be held only after the election of mayor and chairperson is completed, SEC sources said.
Congress is confident of winning a good number of wards and divisions in the urban local bodies in the districts of Medchal-Malkajgiri, Nalgonda, Bhuvanagiri-Yadadri, Sangareddy, Nagarkurnool, Rangareddy and Khammam.
TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said it was an election between “Congress and TRS distributed cash, liquor and gifts.”
Congress legislature party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the democratic institutions were being destroyed in order to allow only the rich to take part in politics and prevent the poor from entering politics.