In the recent municipal chairperson elections held in Hyderabad, the Congress party has made significant strides, securing seven out of eight contested seats. The elections, which were conducted on Tuesday, marked the conclusion of voting in 11 locations that had previously been postponed. While Congress emerged victorious in the majority of the municipalities, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) claimed one seat.
Notably, two of the Congress victories were determined by a toss, as both Janagama and Thorrur municipalities recorded an equal number of votes for BRS and Congress candidates. The electoral officials resorted to a coin toss to determine the chairperson positions, and luck favored Congress in both instances. Meanwhile, in Kaghaznagar, BJP members supported Congress, allowing them to win the chairperson role, while the vice-chairperson position went to the BJP.
However, the election process faced interruptions; in Ibrahimpatnam, a stay order from the High Court halted proceedings midway. Additionally, elections in Kethanapalli and Khanapur municipalities were postponed. This unusual cooperation between traditionally rival parties during the election is noteworthy, as candidates from different parties collaborated to secure seats.
In Indresham and Zaheerabad, municipal elections for chairperson and vice-chairperson were also held on the same day. Here, BRS managed to secure the Indresham municipality, while Congress claimed victory in Zaheerabad. The Indresham municipality consists of 18 councilor seats, with BRS winning nine, Congress securing six, and BJP capturing two. One seat was won by an independent candidate, who subsequently aligned with BRS, enabling them to hold both chairperson and vice-chairperson positions. Pramila Kushangula was elected as chairperson.
The Zaheerabad elections were marked by drama, with BRS expressing strong objections to the conduct of the officials overseeing the voting process. Out of 37 councilor seats, BRS secured 15, Congress 14, BJP three, and AIMIM two, with three independents also winning seats. Congress MP Shetkhar and local BRS MLA Manik Rao registered their ex-officio votes during the elections, supporting Congress’s candidate MD Younus for chairperson, while an independent candidate won the vice-chairperson position.
In the combined Warangal region, Congress achieved a clean sweep, winning all three municipalities contested on Tuesday. Their triumph came amid dramatic developments, as Congress had already secured nine municipalities prior to this election. The fortunes of BRS were not favorable in both Janagama and Thorrur, where they failed to gain any advantage during the elections.
The election proceedings in Janagama were marked by tension, as both Congress and BRS candidates received equal votes. After tallying the ex-officio votes, Congress candidate Balaman received 16 votes, equal to BRS candidate Gopagani Sugunakar. Consequently, officials conducted a draw, and Balaman was declared the chairperson. This led to protests from BRS members, who gathered outside the municipal office with local MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy.
In a poignant moment during the elections, former minister Erra Bellam Dayakar Rao was moved to tears, expressing his dismay at the current state of politics, which he described as marked by vindictiveness and deceit. His emotional outburst reflects the growing frustration among politicians regarding the integrity of the electoral process.
In Illendu, located in the Bhadradri Kothagudem district, the municipal governing body swearing-in ceremony was completed successfully. On Tuesday, along with MLA Koram Kanakayya, 19 Congress members and a few independents arrived at the municipal office, where presiding officer Madhu administered the oath. Following this, Doda Kiran Mitra from the second ward was elected as chairperson, and Pendela Raju from the seventeenth ward was elected as vice-chairperson, further solidifying Congress’s influence in the region.
