TDP makes forays into Cong bastion

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.