The BRS is facing a problem with many of its public representatives leaving for the Congress party in urban areas across the State. This includes the mayor of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, and several other municipal heads. This trend is causing concern for the BRS just before the Lok Sabha elections.
Some senior leaders in the city have switched to Congress, as well as leaders in districts including mayors of Municipal Corporations and chairmen of municipalities. While the party has managed to retain some state-level leaders like Rajendranagar MLA T Prakash Goud, it seems to be struggling to control the decisions of municipal body heads.
The party suffered a major setback with the departure of GHMC mayor Vijayalakshmi, who along with some corporators joined the Congress party. Another blow came when Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) mayor Gundu Sudha Rani also switched sides to Congress. She had been absent from party events and was not seen at an event by the party’s working president.
The Congress party has been using tactics like Operation Akarsh to lure away municipalities in districts by bringing no-confidence motions against sitting BRS chairmen. This has led to corporators and councillors joining Congress and supporting motions to remove elected BRS heads. For example, Congress corporators in Kamareddy successfully ousted N Jahnvi as chairperson through a no-confidence motion.
In addition to Operation Akarsh, the end of four-year terms has also triggered no-confidence motions against mayors and chairmen in various ULBs. The BRS councillors in Turkayamjal municipality have deserted the party, with many supporting motions moved by Congress party leaders. Elected Congress MLAs are reportedly involved in encouraging these defections.
No-confidence motions have been initiated in ULBs like Bandlaguda Jagir, Ibrahimpatnam, Kosgi, Nirmal, Illendu, and Manthani. A senior party leader acknowledged that while the exodus may have little impact due to many ULBs having just one year left in their terms, Congress MLAs are pressuring and coercing BRS leaders at the local level to join their party. However, the leader emphasized that the BRS still maintains strong support from the public in the district.
