Hyderabad: The Congress may be in power in Telangana, but the party is still struggling to get a foothold with the public in the city. With the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections set to be held in the coming months, leaders from within said that the Grand Old Party may not entirely be successful or able to beat the main Opposition entirely due to organisational issues that are yet to be addressed.
In the 2023 Telangana elections, the Congress failed to win even a single seat in the 20-odd Assembly constituencies under the (erstwhile) GHMC area. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lapped up seats falling within the GHMC area, showing that the ruling party was still weak in Hyderabad and the surrounding area.
In 2016, during the GHMC elections, BRS won 99 of the 150 divisions and had its own Mayor and Deputy Mayor. However, it suffered a setback in the 2020 GHMC polls as its tally dropped to 56, with the BJP bagging 48 seats (the saffron party won just four seats in 2016). The Congress won two divisions in 2016 and three in 2020.
GHMC elections and negative perception among public
Many analysts and observers have, on more than one occasion, pointed out that Congress has a negative perception among the public in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas. A senior leader from the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) accepted that the party, in spite of being in power, is still not very strong on the ground. “It will take at least another year for urban projects to come to fruition,” he told Siasat.com.
As of now, the ruling party has two MLAs in the city – Secunderabad Cantonment and Khairatabad. Both the seats had gone to by-elections due to the deaths of the MLAs post the 2023 polls. Both constituencies were won by the BRS in 2023.
Another Congress leader from Hyderabad also told Siasat.com that the BRS, despite weakening overall in Telangana after its loss, is still very strong on social media, especially when it comes to the city. “In Hyderabad, our government should do a good job to change the perspective among the public. For the GHMC area, coordination meetings have been held. But in the GHMC limits, it is public projects that count,” he added.
Will the trifurcation of GHMC help Congress?
The coordination meetings held by the Congress are important as the GHMC elections are crucial in building a positive image and showing that it is strong in Hyderabad, especially post the 2023 elections. “Until an image is built that this government is doing a good job, it won’t change. Public expections are high. There are internal party issues as well. From our side, wherever we are lacking, reports are given to the leadership and the state leaders will decide what to do,” the Congress leader from Hyderabad added.
Moreover, it will be interesting to see the political ramifications of the GHMC after its trifurcation.
Earlier this year in February, the Telangana government issued orders to create the Malkajgiri and Cyberabad municipal corporations. Prior to that, the GHMC area had been expanded from 625 square metres to 2,022 in November last year.
“Within Hyderabad, the Congress has a bad reputation for not doing any work or for being slow. People are certainly unhappy. But with the GHMC being trifurcated, it may get easier for the Congress to win seats in the area on the boundaries. We have to see how it plays out. Generally, the ruling party will win municipal elections, but it won’t be so easy for the Congress,” said a political observer who did not want to be named.
