Mayoral poll: Will TRS reach out to Majlis?

 

There are no permanent friends or foes in politics. But to continue to be friendly with a party while also intending to shun it at the same time is difficult. The TRS has found itself on the horns of this dilemma now. The GHMC results have queered the pitch for the pink party as it has failed to come up with the required numbers to capture the Mayoral post. It has no option but to tie up with the Majlis with whom it was engaged in a triangular fight in the just concluded civic polls.

The TRS has paid a heavy price for being 'friendly' with the Majlis. It gave a handle to the BJP to target the ruling party's 'unholy nexus' with the Majlis and reap rich dividends that catapulted it from a mere four seats in 2016 to 48 seats now. In the build-up to the GHMC polls, the TRS put up an aggressive posture and publicly declared that it had no truck with the Majlis. Now to reach out to the very same party for help for the Mayoral seat is quite embarrassing for the TRS. Having fought bitterly with the BJP, the TRS can't think of forging an alliance with the saffron party. So that leaves the ruling party with the only option to cosy up to its old ally.

The TRS has emerged as the single largest party with 55 corporators but fell short of 12 votes to grab the Mayor post. A minimum of 98 votes are required for any party to stake claim for the top post, a figure no party has now. There are a total of 45 ex-officio members, including MPs, MLAs and MLCs, who are eligible to vote in the GHMC council meetings. The TRS has 31 ex-officio members but still way behind the magic figure of 98. The MIM has 10 ex-officio members followed by BJP (3) and Congress (1).

Both the TRS and the MIM are in no hurry since the term of the existing Council is up to 10 February. They are weighing all the options. TRS working president, K.T. Rama Rao, and Majlis leader, Asaduddin Owaisi, refuse to be drawn into any controversy. "We will consult our MLAs, MLCs, the newly elected Corporators and party leaders before taking any decision," is all that Owaisi said when asked whether his party would support the TRS.

In case there is no tie-up between the two parties, the Majlis might ask its members to be absent on the day of the poll to thwart the chances of its arch-rival, BJP. The Mayoral election is held on the basis of members present and voting.

J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in NewsMeter

Dated December 05,2020