GHMC Polls : What Changed After Dubbak?

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections coming at the backdrop of spectacular Dubbak verdict raises more political heat than expected.

The BJP, enthused by the Dubbak win, will be fighting these elections with renewed vigour. Though the party blew the poll bugle for as many as 75 seats, any significant improvement in its tally of corporators would be a big breakthrough for the saffron party in the state politics. This is essential for BJP to establish a political narrative that it has replaced Congress to emerge as an alternative to TRS.

Ramshackled by the humiliating performance at Dubbak, the Congress finds it extremely difficult to overcome the nervousness in the GHMC elections coming so close to the by-poll. Thus, the GHMC faceoff has also turned into a TRS-BJP fight. 

Barring a miraculous repeat of Dubbak, the TRS is expected to retain GHMC, especially as it enjoys the support of MIM, whose strong hold is largely impregnable. But, any dent into the TRS existing tally of nearly 100 corporators will further embarrass the ruling TRS, which is still unable to digest the Dubbak reversal. 

Post-Dubbak, the ruling party has already started remedial measures. In a bid to take the opposition by surprise, the election has been scheduled in the first week of December. Speculation was rife in the political circles that the ruling party may prefer a later schedule because of the flood mismanagement. The TRS government wanted to prevent any Dubbak impact from settling down in the minds of the city populace. Any delay will only further energize the BJP.

The ruling party hopes to gain from the cash compensation scheme to flood victims, the announcement of significant relief in the property tax, and a slew of developmental measures in the recent past. The TRS plans to expose the BJP on the central government’s luke warm support to Telangana in general and Hyderabad in particular. 

However, the BJP feels that the simmering discontent against the TRS government would help it in Hyderabad too. Pandemic induced economic destruction, unemployment, urban flooding, etc., have certainly triggered anger among electorate. How far and what direction will they have the political expression is something to be closely watched. The BJP plans to rouse people’s anger over the TRS government’s allegedly weak handling of the pandemic. In fact, the BJP led central government cannot absolve itself from handling public health crises and the economic hardships created by it. But, public opinion depends on the way it is manufactured. The BJP’s ability in this regard is a challenge for the TRS. Any consolidation of anti-TRS vote behind BJP will undoubtedly boost the saffron party’s fortunes. 

However, the ruling party wants Dubbak to be an aberration. It hopes to benefit from the voter’s mind set to prefer a ruling party in local body elections to facilitate development.  Thus, the GHMC elections are fast becoming a sort of political expression rather than a mandate for governance in Hyderabad.

By Prof K Nageshwar

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