Telangana: Parties strike secret deals to capture ULB posts

Hyderabad: Hours before the indirect elections to the posts of mayors, deputy mayors, chairpersons and deputy chairpersons in urban local bodies on Monday, loyalties were shifting, understandings were being reached between candidates of rival parties, and political equations were changing rapidly. The ruling Congress and the opposition BJP, BRS, All India Forward Bloc, CPI, CPM and independents are adjusting and implementing strategies to secure as many mayoral and chairperson posts as possible.Allegations were exchanged from multiple sides over the alleged use of money and muscle power, with claims that candidates were being abducted and threatened to change loyalties. The developments come after urban voters delivered a hung verdict in 37 ULBs, including the municipal corporations of Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Kothagudem.
In Nizamabad Municipal Corporation, the support of AIMIM and independents was seen as crucial for the mayor's post. While there was no formal confirmation from AIMIM or Congress leaders, sources said the Congress had secured the support of AIMIM and a BRS corporator. A senior leader said the Congress, along with its ex-officio members, was in a position to win the mayor's post, with AIMIM likely to be given the deputy mayor post. The leader also said ministers N Uttam Kumar Reddy and TPCC president Mahesh Goud had turned the tables on the BJP, which had emerged as the single largest party and considered the favourite for the top post, likely to be given to a BC leader.In the Karimnagar Municipal Corporation, uncertainty continued as understandings and equations among parties shifted. The BJP emerged as the single largest party in the ULB, but the Congress, led by ministers D Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar, was attempting to bring independents and others to its side to secure the mayor's seat. The BJP, led by union minister Bandi Sanjay, was also working on strategies for the top post.In the Kothagudem municipal corporation, five independents joined the Congress in the presence of minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, altering the equations. The Congress and CPI won 22 seats each and were both staking claim to the mayor's post. A local CPI leader said there was a proposal for the Congress and the Left party to share the mayor's seat for two-and-a-half years each, though Congress leaders did not confirm it. In other municipalities with hung verdicts, All India Forward Bloc candidates extended support to the Congress, while some independents backed Congress, BRS and BJP in different places.Meanwhile, the AICC high command intervened in Jagtial municipality and forged a truce between the camps of T Jeevan Reddy and Sanjay Kumar. The two leaders, along with their councillors and independents, met AICC secretary Viswanathan. The high command proposed a sharing formula of two and a half years each for the chairperson's post. The issue was resolved after party veteran Jeevan Reddy said the top posts should be given to Congress loyalists and not new entrants, irrespective of whether the candidate belonged to his camp or Sanjay's camp.