The BRS party is unsure whether to participate in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Standing Committee elections. The party has not made a final decision yet and plans to hold another meeting before February 17, which is the last date for filing nominations.
Despite the uncertainty, two BRS corporators have already submitted their nominations for the elections. Senior MLA Talasani Srinivas Yadav, who recently met with GHMC corporators, stated that the party will decide soon. However, there are concerns within the party about the possibility of cross-voting by its corporators.
Many BRS corporators, including Mayor G Vijayalakshmi and Deputy Mayor M Srilatha, have joined the Congress party. The BRS leadership is worried that some remaining corporators may vote for Congress, which could lead to embarrassment for the party. Previously, in the 150-member GHMC, the BRS held 43 corporator positions.
In past elections, the BRS and AIMIM (MIM) worked together to secure all the Standing Committee positions, with each party getting eight seats. However, since the Congress has now come to power in the state, the role of MIM is uncertain. A BRS senior leader mentioned that the party will decide its course of action only after understanding MIM’s position, as MIM has not announced whether it will contest the elections.
Interestingly, despite the party’s indecisiveness, two BRS corporators—Kukatpally corporator Jupally Satyanarayana and Addagutta corporator Prasanna Lakshmi—have already submitted their nominations for the Standing Committee.
During a meeting on Wednesday, Srinivas Yadav urged corporators to raise public issues and hold the ruling Congress accountable. He criticized the Congress government, claiming that development work in the city had stopped after they took power. He also stated that people are facing difficulties due to unresolved issues.
Yadav encouraged corporators to pressurize the GHMC and the government to address civic problems. He also mentioned that the party would decide on bringing a no-confidence motion against the Mayor and Deputy Mayor after a discussion with BRS working president KT Rama Rao.
He further demanded that the government provide 42% reservations for Backward Classes (BCs), as promised in the Congress party’s Kamareddy declaration. He questioned the government on the declining BC population figures and urged them to conduct a re-survey.
