Hyderabad,Nov 25:The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections which is the first test of strength for the political power after the assembly and LokSabaha elections gave the ruling Congress some jitters with Telugu Desam putting up a show of strength to make forays into the Congress bastion in the GHMC limits.However,the ruling Congress silencing its critics on Thursday,and succeeded in emerging as the single largest party to claim its stronghold on Greater Hyderabad by capturing 52 seats.The message of the electorate in these polls is clear that they resent small parties and are in favour of a single strong opposition which will hold a check on the ruling party.Partieslike Praja Rajyam bagged one while Lok Satta which fielded 126 candidates in 150 divisions did not even open their account.It is evident that TDP is eating more into the Congress vote bank not only in the city but in the peripheries of the city.
The TDP which bagged a handsome number of 45 seats claimed most of the seats from the city outskirt divisions of Patancheru and Hayatnagar.In most of the cases the contest was a neck-to-neck fight between the Congress and the TDP with the margin of victory being not more than 100 to 150.The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) tightened its grip in the Old City by bagging most of the seats. MBT the arch rival of MIM claimed only one seat while MIM took its tally to an impressive 43.Surprsiingly Bharatiya Janata Party put up an impressive show by making inroads into the divisions of Goshammahal, Mehadipatnam, Gudimalkapur, Kurmaguda and Kachiguda to bag five eats.
But put up a dismal show in Kishen Reddy’s assembly constituency by not even winning a single seat.Of the four independents who emerged victorious two of them belong to Congress rivals. This very fact indicates that the rebel factor played a decisive role in deciding the future of some of the candidates. Specially in the case of Congress. Jagan’s electioneering seemed to have not the desired impact on the electorate as Congress lost almost in all the divisions where he campaigned.