The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), the BJP and the Congress were in the fray, and none of the parties seem to be heading towards a clear majority. While TRS’ seats have reduced significantly, the BJP has made major gains, So how does a political party win the GHMC elections and how is the mayor of Hyderabad, one of the fastest-growing cities in India, elected?
Besides the 150 candidates who win the GHMC election from various wards in the city, there are also 52 ex-officio members, who also get to vote for the mayor. Simply put, ex-officio members are members of the Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council and Parliament, whose jurisdiction falls within the limits of the municipal corporation, in this case, Hyderabad. So MLAs, MPs and MLCs from Hyderabad can vote for the Mayor.
This is laid down in the GHMC Act, 1956. Section 5(1A) which dubs these elected representatives as ex-officio members, grants them the “right to take part in the proceedings of any meetings of the municipal councils or corporation, as the case may be.” While ex-officio members are not allowed to vote on other matters, Section 90 (sub-section 1) of the same Act, lays down guidelines which allow them to vote for a mayor and a deputy mayor at the first meeting of the corporation.
There are 52 ex-officio members in Hyderabad, but seven of them are ineligible to vote as they exercised their vote in another corporation or council which fell under their jurisdiction. Of the remaining 45 members, 31 belong to the TRS, followed by the AIMIM at 10, BJP at 3 and Congress at 1.
What does GHMC victory mean for BJP, why top BJP leaders campaigned for this small Election? Political analysts believe that the saffron party has come out as a dominant force in the state with an aim of getting an absolute majority in 2023 Assembly polls and turn Telangana into the second gateway to South India after Karnataka. TRS defeat in Dubbaka and the setback in GHMC proves there is anti-incumbency and BJP has used this to its advantage thus replacing Congress as the main opposition.
“BJP has clearly made a mark in GHMC elections by improving the Party’s tally from 2016. And with Congress once again failing, the saffron party acquired the status of main opposition to the ruling TRS,” said analyst P. Raghavendra Reddy.
This will give an edge to the saffron party in five Lok Sabha seats and 24 assembly seats of Greater Hyderabad. Besides, it will also open the BJP gateway to West Bengal and Odisha, where the saffron party has not tasted victory. With big gains, the saffron party will also attempt to dislodge the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) which has been in Hyderabad politics for the last six decades. BJP’s next target will be the by-elections to Nagarjunasagar Assembly seat, which fell vacant following the death of sitting legislator of TRS’ Nomula Narsimhaiah three days ago.
The current positions are TRS 56, BJP 48 AIMIM 44 CONGRESS 2
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