Rarely a Municipal election invited such national attention as the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), where hordes of political heavyweights from the Centre have descended to the campaign. The list includes the Home minister Amit Shah, BJP party president J.P. Nadda, Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Prakash Javadekar, U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, former Maha CM Devendra Fadnavis and Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya. PM Modi made a symbolic but high-profile visit to Hyderabad on Saturday to inspect the vaccine manufactories, queering the poll pitch.
BJP is in the pole position after its recent win in Bihar and more importantly its win in the Dubbak assembly constituency, defeating the favourites TRS in a nail-biting battle.
In the 2016 GHMC election, TRS won an overwhelming 99 seats in the 150-member Municipality, and MIM 44. TRS trounced the BJP-TDP alliance, limiting it to 4 seats and Congress-TDP combine could win just 1 seat.
K. Chandrasekara Rao is an old warhorse, fighting for a separate state from 1969. He is ambitious too and never misses an opportunity to meet national opposition leaders to forge a unity wherever necessary. Despite allegations of corruption and family reign, KCR must have been doing a relatively good job for his people.
The other dominant actor, Asaduddin Owaisi too nurtures a national role. He is buoyant after his 5-seat victory and dislodging the RJD, Congress combine. A win for him, in his home turf, will make him formidable in the forthcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, which has a sizeable minority population. Owaisi’s success so far been from the Muslim minorities of the old Hyderabad.
The GHMC is decisive for the future, as it also means the 25-seat assembly-pie. Winning GHMC could pave the way to conquer Telangana and the further marching to the Southern states. Most in Telangana speak and understand Hindi, unlike in Tamil Nadu, which will prove to be a challenge for the Central BJP leaders.
The BJP has used all its usual weapons like invoking the fear of Jinnah, demanding ‘surgical strikes’ over Hyderabad, proposing a renaming of Hyderabad to Bhagyanagar etc. to the euphoria of Hindu crowds. The communalizing and polarizing plan by the parties could help strategize their respective moves and countermoves in the forthcoming West Bengal 2021 polls.
I guess, BJP will be content with a 20-25 seats in the GHMC elections and may let Owaisi record a respectable score as well. A recharged Owaisi may be useful for BJP in West Bengal, to break TMC’s monopoly of the Muslim votes, which alone can dent Mamata.
GHMC skirmish is but the testing ground for the bigger battles if Bengal and Tamil Nadu in 2021. Right now, with the Union Home Minister doing his rounds in the lanes, by lanes of Hyderabad has altered the poll scenario as never before.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
pic courtesy India.com
