The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi has finally given up its hypocrisy of projecting itself a secular party by joining hands with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in capturing the posts of mayor and deputy mayor posts in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
The strategic decision of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) to support the TRS in the last moment in the election of mayor and deputy mayor for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation once again exposed the indirect alliance between the two parties.
The TRS, which was struggling to reach the majority mark in the GHMC council, despite roping in all its co-option members, struck a secret understanding with the AIMIM and ensured that it would have smooth sailing in the election of mayor and deputy mayor.
As a result, Gadwal Vijayalakshmi from Banjara Hills divion got elected as the new mayor of the GHMC, while Mothe Srilatha Shobhan Reddy from Tarnaka bagged the deputy mayor post, without any hassles, as the AIMIM members raised their hands in support of these two women, amidst “Shame-Shame” and “Jai Sri Ram,” slogans from the BJP members.
Vijayalakshmi happens to be the daughter of TRS parliamentary party leader K Kesava Rao. She defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Radha Dheeraj Reddy, corporator from R K Puram division. Srilatha defeated Shankar Yadav of the BJP.
Initially, there were reports from the AIMIM camp that it would also field candidates for Mayor and deputy mayor posts. This led to some kind of hope in the BJP camp that there would be a stalemate and the party might stand some chance of winning the Mayor post.
However, minutes before the election process began, the AIMIM opted out of the contest and extended support to the TRS candidates, as a result of which they were declared elected without any hassles.
The Bharatiya Janata Party might be disappointed for losing chance of cornering the TRS, in the event of the AIMIM staying away from the contest for the two posts. But with the AIMIM extending support to the TRS, it is more than happy.
“The TRS-AIMIM friendship is now clearly exposed and what we have been saying all these days has now come out in the open. Though the TRS members are in the top seats in the GHMC, the steering will be in the hands of the AIMIM. The TRS will have to dance to the tunes of the AIMIM hereafter,” BJP state president Bandi Sanjay said.
BJP legislator from Goshamahal T Raja Singh said the TRS had dug its own grave by taking the support from the AIMIM.
“Both the parties have betrayed the faith of the people of Hyderabad. And they are going to pay the penalty in the next assembly elections,” he said.
BJP official spokesman K Krishna Sagar Rao said the party stood vindicated on the charge that the TRS and the AIMIM were conjoined twins and had a secret alliance.
“Today with AIMIM openly supporting TRS Mayoral bid, the cat is out of the bag. They have unravelled their seven-year-old secret alliance publicly, as TRS was left with no option,” he said.
He said the TRS would not have won half the seats, if it would have announced this alliance prior to GHMC elections. #KhabarLive #hydnews
