The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) is likely to have a cakewalk in the election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Hyderabad on Thursday.
The party which won 99 of the 150 seats crushing all other Opposition parties except the MIM, was likely to bag both the posts uncontested as it also has a clear upper hand among the 67 ex-offcio members like MPs, MlAs and MlCs. The TRS has the support of 31 of these ex-officio members taking its total strength to 130.
Though MIM with 44 seats has emerged as the main opposition parties and it also has ten ex officio members, it was unlikely to challenge for the post of Mayor or deputy Mayor. However it was expecting a better deal in terms of representation in the powerful standing committee of GHMC.
With respective 1, 2 and three members, TDP, Congress and the BJP were likely to stay away from the election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor for which the notice has been issued. Hyderabad district collector Rahul Bojja will be the presiding officer.
According to the sources in TRS the party was likely to field B Rammohan as its candidate for the Mayor’s post and nominated a Muslim for the deputy Mayor’s post. Name of Baba Fasihuddin was making rounds in this regard. Earlier the K Vijayalakshmi, daughter of senior TRS leader K Keshav Rao was being tipped for the Mayor’s post but questions over her citizenship status were coming in the way. She was a green card holder of USA and also became US citizen after marriage but gave it up and re acquired Indian citizenship in 2009. Still some doubts persists on the legalities of it.
Meanwhile the detailed analysis of the votes polled in GHMC elections revealed that the TRS was able to establish a clear upper hand against all its rivals in all parts of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy district where the party was earlier very weak.
TRS, which contested all the 150 seats, secured 30% of all the votes. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) which contested only 60 seats secured 43% of votes polled in those constituencies.