High Octane Campaign for Hyderabad Polls Ends; 67 Lakh Voters to Decide Fate of 1,222 Candidates on Dec 1

The high decibel and acrimonious campaign by political parties for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation ended on Sunday at 6 PM, setting the stage for the December 1 “Battle for Hyderabad”. As many as 1,122 candidates are in poll fray for 150 wards in GHMC, constituting 24 Assembly segments with over 74.

67 lakh eligible voters. Top BJP leaders, including its president J P Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah campaigned in the run up to the polls, while TRS Working President shouldered the responsibility for his party.

Telangana Congress President Uttam Kumar Reddy and senior leaders also canvassed for their party’s candidates. Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and his legislator brother Akbaruddin Owaisi participated in several rallies.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao addressed a public meeting on November 28 here, highlighting his partys commitments for the development of the city. Union Ministers Amit Shah, Smriti Irani, MoS Kishan Reddy and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were among the prominent leaders of BJP who mostly focused on the “family rule” of TRS and “undisclosed” tie up with the AIMIM.

TRS and BJP leaders indulged in war of words attacking each other. Shah, who participated in a road show today, launched a no holds barred attack on the ruling TRS, telling television channels that the people of Telangana are angry and upset with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Owaisi’s “alliance” with it.

He said he was confident that the city would elect a BJP mayor this time. BJP Telangana president B Sanjay found himself in a row following his comments that his party would conduct a “surgical strike” in the old city here to chase away Rohingyas and Pakistanis after it wins the post of Mayor in the civic polls.

Akbaruddin Owaisi in a poll campaign earned the wrath of his opponents by asking whether the ‘samadhis’ of former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and TDP founder N T Rama Rao, built on the Hussain Sagar lake bank, would be removed as he questioned the eviction drive against “poor people” residing near water bodies. The Telangana Director General of Police Mahendar Reddy had earlier said over 51,000 police personnel are being deployed for the GHMC polls.

The entire effort is to ensure that the election passes off peacefully without any incident and people are allowed to exercise their franchise in a free and fair manner, he said. Polling will start at 7 AM on December 1 and end at 6 PM.Counting of votes will be taken up on December 4.