It is just a small municipal election but the hype and internal rivalry within political parties, and the money involved, has made it big. The election to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is giving the jitters to all parties.
The Praja Rajyam Party, which was hoping for an alliance with the Congress, decided to withdraw from the contest. Sensing that without the support of the Congress, his party candidates may lose their deposits, actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi decided against risking another humiliation. But a day later, he decided to brave it anyway. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti has already decided not to contest.
The Telugu Desam Party has tied up with the Left parties hoping to regain some lost glory. Before the 15-seat GHMC was created in April 2007 by merging 12 municipal areas, the TDP ruled the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad.
But it is because of the ruling party?s travails that this election has become so eye-catching. The electioneering started with a drama in Hyderabad and ended in New Delhi. To counter the camp of Jaganmohan, son of the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) had decided on the tie-up with the PRP. It had the consent of chief minister K Rosaiah. The APCC felt that with Chiranjeevi, a sure crowd-puller, campaigning for them, the absence of YSR could be negated.
But the strategy went awry. There was dissent even among neutral Congress leaders. The Congress high command stepped in before the fire spread and scuttled the alliance.
With the Congress bitterly divided over Jaganmohan, some fireworks were expected once the final list of candidates was announced. But the ruling party?s image took a beating when ministers and MLAs got involved in fisticuffs with party workers and ticket aspirants on the road in full public view, and the state Congress chief?s house was saved in the nick of time from being torched. The Congress headquarters, Gandhi Bhavan, was forced to close its gates as irate workers pelted stones and threatened to set it on fire. Congress MLA P Shankar Rao had to run for his life as he was chased by his party workers until the police rescued him.
At the centre of the shameful drama on the streets were allegations that tickets were sold for Rs 50 to 60 lakh each by the president of APCC, D Srinivas, and president of the Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee, D Nagender, who is also the health minister, and a YSR loyalist. This is almost the price that leftout aspirants claimed MLA tickets were allegedly sold for last year.
The Congress announced its final list of 130 candidates for 150 wards on Thursday and since Friday morning those aspirants who did not get the ticket took to the streets.
D Nagender quit his post saying he was disgusted by the allegations. His house was gheraoed by party workers and aspirants who shouted slogans against him and the Congress. Outside the residence of D Srinivas, many aspirants along with their supporters held up bundles of currency notes and asked the APCC chief if he would change his mind and the candidate for some more money. Hundreds of Congress workers took off their clothes in full public view saying that the Congress party had no shame left.
Sources in the Congress said that though the party leadership expected dissent, such a reaction was not expected. What made the situation so difficult was that there were more than 900 aspirants in the 150 wards for which the Congress is contesting 130 seats. There are 3,350 candidates in the municipal fray, including 400 independents.
With many Congress workers vowing to defeat their party candidates, Veerappa Moily again had to step in to calm the rebels saying that the list was decided at the central level.
For N Chandrababu Naidu, the elections will test the waters post-YSR. The party is also hoping to capitalise on the chaos within the Congress. The All-India Majlis e Ittehadual Muslimeen Party (AIMIM) which won 36 seats earlier is a key player in the elections. At least 15 of the 50 new wards added to create the GHMC have a sizeable Muslim population. MIM MP from Hyderabad Assaduddin Owaisi said they would the support the Congress if required.