TRS rules out alliance with AIMIM for GHMC elections
The AIMIM and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have not signed an electoral pact for the upcoming Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections. Notably, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is considered a friendly party of the ruling TRS.
Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao's son and state Municipal Administration minister KT Rama Rao has said that the party will contest elections on its own. He said that the decision was taken keeping the larger interests of Hyderabad and Telangana in mind. He said that the TRS will contest in all the 150 divisions in the city.
Rama Rao said that just because AIMIM supports the state government's decisions, "it doesn’t mean we are working together". He also sought to remind that in the 2016 polls, the TRS had won 5 seats while lost one with a narrow margin in the old city.
READ MORE: Owaisi faces women voters' ire over distribution of financial assistance
Elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation will be held on December 1. The counting of votes for the poll would be taken up on December 4. There are 150 wards in all in the corporation, and the mayor’s post is reserved for a woman this time.
Meanwhile, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi too has confirmed that his party will not ally with the TRS for the GHMC polls.
Earlier this month, Owaisi had met Chandrashekar Rao at latter's official residence, Pragati Bhavan. The meeting between the two leaders triggered talks that the two parties could contest the GHMC elections in an alliance.
The main contest is among the ruling TRS and the opposition BJP and Congress, though the TDP, once a major force in Hyderabad and Telangana, is also hoping to win a decent number of seats.
