Nearly 75-lakh voters in 150 divisions of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) would decide as to which political party should be entrusted with power to administer the Corporation, one of the biggest metropolitan civic bodies in the country, when polling would be held on Tuesday for the first time after the formation of Telangana State.
More than any other political party, it is the ruling TRS which has a greater stake in this prestigious elections as it is making a determined bid to wrest power of the corporation.
The TRS, which did not contest in the 2009 elections to the GHMC before the bifurcation of the united Andhra Pradesh, is now eyeing to have a firm grip over the corporation to establish its political supremacy in the metropolis too.
The question now is how the settlers from Seemandhra, who constitute nearly 25 percent of the electorate, would react to various political parties, as they hold the key in deciding the fortunes of many candidates, especially the TRS nominees.
Realizing the importance of the settler votes, all the political parties, especially the TRS, went all out to placate these sections. Since TRS had ruffled the feathers of the settlers during the separate Telangana movement, the party leaders, including Chief Minister KCR went all out to soothe the feelings of the Seemandhra voters here by repeatedly assuring that their interests would be well protected and that they too are Hyderabadis like others.
What is more, the TRS, in order to instill confidence among the settlers, has even fielded some of them as party nominees in the elections.
The Congress and the TDP on their part tried to rake up passions among the settlers by constantly reminding and recalling the utterances and threats of TRS leaders and cadres dubbing these sections as outsiders.
However, the settlers on their party seem to be keeping their choice close of their heart and thus forcing the major players to be on tenterhooks.
