Hyderabad GHMC election results: BJP leads in 48 seats, TRS in 14

Mangalore Today News Network / News18

Hyderabad, Dec 04, 2020:    Hyderabad GHMC Election Results 2020 Live Updates: As counting begins, initial trends suggest that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 29 divisons and TRS in eight. The votes are being counted in 30 centres. The initial results is expected to come around 11am. With Greater Hyderabad comprising 25 assembly constituencies and four Lok Sabha seats, the civic elections have become a prestige battle between the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the BJP. The TRS, AIMIM, BJP, Congress and TDP have sent important leaders as counting agents.

 

BJP, which has only two MLAs in the Telangana assembly at present, is hoping GHMC will give it a launch pad needed to become a serious contender, not only in Telangana but in other southern states as well. On the other hand, the TRS is confident to get enough seats to have its own mayor but fears that there could be a fall in the total number of seats it would win. Some reports suggest that the BJP has given a tough fight and the TRS may end up winning 70 divisions or so. The party hopes that possibility of the AIMIM losing a couple of seats as compared to last time may boost its chances.

Ahead of counting, repolling was held in the Old Malakpet ward of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on Thursday. The repolling was ordered after an error was detected in the ballot paper with regard to the symbol of the CPI candidate during polling on December 1. The Telangana State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday ordered fresh poll to be conducted on Thursday in all 69 polling stations of Old Malakpet (Ward number 26) after it was found that the symbol of CPI (M) (Hammer, sickle and star) was printed instead of CPI’s symbol (Ears of Corn & Sickle) in the ballot paper. The CPI had petitioned the election authorities on the matter. Official sources said the polling percentage in the Old Malakpet ward was 38.46. According to official sources, 46.55 per cent polling was reported in the GHMC election held on December 1.

Polling passed off peacefully, but not without any glitch, as repoll was ordered in ward number 26 owing to a symbol mix-up involving the two Left parties-- CPI and CPI (M), officials said. Ballot papers were used in total 150 wards of the corporation.

Aiming to cash-in on its surprise success in the recent Dubbak assemblyy bypoll, the BJP seemed to have upped the stakes in the civic polls in the state capital, fielding the "who’s who" of the saffron party, from Shah to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to Smriti Irani, for canvassing of votes. While Shah assured development to the southern city and free it from "Nizam Culture" if voted to power, UP chief minister Adityanath, whose administration changed the names of Faizabad and Allahabad in his state to Ayodhya and Prayagraj, respectively, said Hyderabad could follow suit to become ’Bhagyanagar’ if his party captured GHMC.

Shah targeted both All India Majils-e-Ittehadul- Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on dynasty politics. BJP’s top guns--party chief J P Nadda, Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar and Smriti Irani and party MP and BJYM national president Tejaswi Surya hit the campaign trail.

The saffron party leaders also targeted AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaudddin Owaisi during their campaign and accused the ruling TRS of having a tacit understanding with it. The TRS campaign was led by its working president and state Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao, while party president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao addressed a campaign public meeting.

In his lone public address, he alleged some "divisive forces" were trying to enter the city to disturb peace and tranquility, while billing his party as "progressive". During the campaign, state BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar stoked a row when he said his party would be ready, if necessary, to conduct a "surgical strike" in the old city to send away Rohingyas and Pakistanis.

For its part, AIMIM courted controversy when its leader and Asaduddin Owaisi’s brother Akbaruddin in a poll campaign asked whether the "samadhis" of former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and TDP founder N T Rama Rao, built on the Hussain Sagar lake bank, would be removed as he questioned the eviction drive against "poor people" residing near water bodies. On Tuesday, a low voter turnout was recorded in the poll though the campaign for the election had been vociferous.

The polling began at 7 AM and concluded at 6 PM and went off peacefully without any major incident, a police official said. The voter turnout was 35.80 per cent till 5 PM and the final poll percentage would be released after compilation and as per the procedures, official sources said.

The Telangana State Election Commission (SEC) ordered repolling in all 69 polling stations of Ward number 26 after it was found that the symbol of CPI(M) was printed in the ballot paper instead of CPI, an official release said. The repoll would be held on December 3.

As many as 74.44 lakh voters were supposed to exercise their franchise while 1,122 candidates were in the fray in a battle between the ruling TRS and the opposition BJP and Congress. Criticising the ruling TRS over the low turnout, BJP leader and Union MoS (Home) G Kishan Reddy said it should "hang its head in shame." The TRS used the SEC for its "selfish politics" and indulged in misuse of power, he alleged.

Observing there was time till February to conduct the polls, Reddy said the elections could have been conducted by trying to promote public awareness and making effective arrangements. Meanwhile, special arrangements were made in view of COVID-19 pandemic and the SEC enabled the virus-infected persons to either vote at polling stations physically or use postal ballot.

In case the COVID-19 patients have not used postal ballots, the poll panel allowed them to cast their vote in the final hour -- from 5 PM to 6 PM. However, they were mandated to wear mask, face shield and gloves, the SEC said.