HYDERABAD: The BJP, which had sprung a surprise in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by winning four seats in the State, went belly up in the municipal polls. The party’s sole saving grace was Nizamabad MP Dharampuri Arvind, who ensured the victory of 28 BJP candidates in Nizamabad Municipal Corporation (NMC).
Arvind, popularly known as the giant killer who had sent Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha home by inflicting a decisive defeat on her, managed to do an encore in the municipal elections as far the NMC is concerned.
However, when it came to the municipalities in his constituency, the performance of the BJP was far from satisfactory. The TRS was miles ahead of both the Congress and the BJP. This must have felt like sweet revenge for the TRS cadres after the debacle that the Lok Sabha election was.
Arvind has been concentrating on the NMC since the start. His flogging of Hindutva sentiments to gain political benefit has finally paid off. He constantly emphasised on KCR’s ‘doublespeak’ — opposing the CAA in Delhi and refusing to talk about it in the State over fear of losing either Hindu votes or the AIMIM.
The TRS was way behind in the NMC by bagging just 13 corporator seats. Nevertheless, there is a silver lining to the clouds of despondency for the TRS. The AIMIM — its ally —won 16 divisions, while the Congress has two corporator seats. What’s left is an Independent seat; if the TRS handles the winner right, it could get their support too. This means that if they play their cards well, Nizamabad too would be in the TRS bag.
In neighbouring Karimnagar district, the BJP’s performance is nothing short of a disaster though it has Bandi Sanjay Kumar as its MP. Needless to say, Bandi is a hardcore Hindutva activist. Despite delivering powerful speeches, rousing the passions of Hindutva, things did not work out the way he had expected at the time of the hustings. Meanwhile, in Jammikunta, the BJP drew a blank, while in Husnabad, it won only five seats. In Choppdandi, it won two seats, in Sircilla three, and Vemulawada six.
TRS bags just 13 seats in N’bad Corporation
The pink party was way behind in the NMC by bagging just 13 corporator seats. Nevertheless, there is a silver lining to the clouds of despondency for the pink party. The AIMIM — its ally —won 16 divisions, while the Congress has two corporator seats. What’s left is an Independent seat; if the TRS handles the winner right, it could get their support too. This means that if they play their cards well, Nizamabad too would be in the pink party’s bag
‘BJP emerging an alternative to TRS’
BJP State president K Laxman said the saffron party was slowly but steadily emerging as an alternative to the TRS in Telangana. Addressing the media after the civic poll results were announced, he said, “The BJP has spectacularly shown its strength in its fight against the TRS. The party will fight harder in the upcoming GHMC and Cantonment elections. Our party represented in almost all the municipalities in the State and that should be a warning sign to the TRS,” he said and added that 50 per cent of seats in Sircilla municipality was won by non-TRS parties
‘TRS blackmailed ministers to win polls’
Malkajgiri MP and Congress party working president A Revanth Reddy alleged that the TRS won the civic polls by ‘blackmailing’ their leaders. Addressing the media after the civic poll results here on Saturday, he criticised the ruling party for ‘depending on liquor and money, apart from misusing the police and election machinery. He slammed the State Election Commission (SEC) for not taking action against ministers KT Rama Rao, Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Malla Reddy and Gangula Kamalakar for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct.