TRS sweeps civic body chief polls
Wins 109 out of 120 municipal chief positions
The ruling TRS on Monday completed its rout of the civic bodies polls, sweeping 112 municipalities out of 120 and all the 10 corporations. The Congress won four municipalities, the BJP and the MIM two each.
The State Election Commission (SEC) has postponed the election of chairperson and vice chairperson in Medchal municipality due to lack of quorum and in Nereducharla because of a controversy raised over the voting by Congress Rajya Sabha member K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao as an ex-officio member. These elections will be held on January 28.
The TRS had absolute majority to form councils in 82 municipalities and five municipal corporations, the Congress in eight municipalities and the BJP in three. The ruling party grabbed two from the Congress and one from the BJP using its exofficio votes — those of MPs, MLAs and MLCs.
In the other 31 bodies including the Nizamabad,
Boduppal, Ramagundam, Meerpet and Badangpet municipal corporations, the TRS won with the support of rebels, independents and the MIM.
In Thukkuguda, the BJP had won nine wards out of 15 and the TRS five. The ruling party then used the ex-officio votes of minister Sabita Indra Reddy, Rajya Sabha member Dr K. Kesava Rao and MLCs Nayani Narasimha Reddy, E. Mallesham and K. Janardhan Reddy.
The BJP lodged a strong objection with the SEC for allowing Dr Kesava Rao, to vote as he represents AP in the Rajya Sabha.
Slamming the Congress and the BJP for their “alliance” in Makthal and Manikonda municipalities to form the councils, TRS working president and minister K.T. Rama Rao on Monday said that the people were now aware of which party was the B-team.
Addressing a press conference in Telangana Bhavan,
Mr Rama Rao thanked the people for showing huge support to the TRS in the elections to the civic bodies. He thanked the leaders and cadres for working hard for the victory of the ruling party in 112 municipalities out of 120 and the 10 municipal corporations.
He alleged the BJP and the Congress had tied up in the two municipalities in an “unholy alliance”. TPCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and BJP state president Dr K. Laxman have to change their party scarves, he said.
He alleged that though the Congress and the BJP claimed they were Delhibased national parties, they were practicing “silly politics in the gullies” of the state.
Mr Rama Rao exuded confidence that the TRS would win the Medchal and Nereducharla municipalities were elections were postponed to Tuesday. Asked about winning the Thukkuguda municipality with ex-officio votes though the BJP had a majority, and at Kosgi and Adibatla municipalities and Ramagundam Municipal Corporation, Mr Rama Rao said the system was not introduced by the TRS.
He said that the then TD government had in 1999 given voting rights to the MLAs to vote as ex-officio members in municipalities and corporations. In 2008, the then Congress government had extended the voting rights to MLCs. The TRS only used the existing rules.
He thanked the MIM for supporting the TRS to form the council in the Nizamabad Municipal Corporation.
MR RAMA RAO alleged that the Congress and the BJP were practicing “silly politics in the gullies” of the state