TRS may elect mayor without MIM support
50 pc quorum essential for GHMC council to elect mayor
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is chalking out plans to use technicalities to elect its mayor and deputy mayor without the support from MIM. As per rules, 50 per cent quorum is essential for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) council to elect the mayor and deputy mayor. In other words, if a certain number of electors absent themselves, the required quorum can elect corporators to the two posts without the support of another political party in the hung house.
Any political party will require 98 electors, including corporators and exofficio members, to elect its own mayor and her deputy. The mayor’s post is, incidentally, received for a woman.
But no political party has got absolute majority even if the parties include their ex-officio members. While the TRS has won 55+1 seats (result of one ward is pending in court), the BJP got 48 seats, MIM secured 44 seats and the Congress has been reduced to just two corporators. Including its 31 exofficio members, the strength TRS will be 87. MIM’s strength with 10 exofficio member will be 54, while BJP’s number will be 51 with its three ex-officio members. Congress has one ex-officio member, which takes its count to three.
TRS does not want to take the support of MIM in getting its candidates elected to the two posts for political reasons, as BJP will take advantage of such an alliance through polarisation of votes in the 2023 assembly general elections. Consequently, TRS has chalked out a technical plan to emerge the winner.
The GHMC council requires a quorum of 50 per cent of the house to elect the mayor and deputy mayor. Including its ex-officio members, TRS has enough strength to get its two candidates elected effortlessly. In case of any emergency, it can ask MIM to keep only minimal corporators in the house at the election time.
Incidentally, the same method was used by TRS while constituting area sabhas in July 2017. At that time, a special meeting of the GHMC was convened to constitute area sabhas.
While GHMC mayor Bonthu Rammohan did not turn up citing ill health, a number of corporators were conspicuous by their absence. Then, deputy mayor Baba Fasiuddin acted as chairman of the council in the absence of mayor, which was a first in the history of GHMC.
This facilitated the GHMC council in forming 1,347 area sabhas for all the 150 wards.
Significantly, the term of the existing council of GHMC will continue until February 10. So, newly elected corporators can take oath only after February 10. Mayoral elections will be held thereafter with a notification issued by the State Election Commission.