Hyderabad: The TRS and the Congress are trying to woo settlers in the GHMC limits to win majority seats in the coming assembly elections. Which party the settlers will vote for is becoming a matter of great interest. In the 2014 assembly elections they have voted in favor of the Telugu Desam and the BJP alliance but after one year they voted for the TRS in the GHMC elections.
In GHMC limits there are 24 Assembly constituencies. Earlier there were 15 assembly constituencies and later on 9 assembly constituencies in Rangareddy and Medak districts were merged in GHMC, taking the total to 24. In the 2014 assembly elections, the MIM won 7 seats in the old city area out of the 24 seats in GHMC. In the remaining 17 seats, the TD and the BJP won 14 and the TRS won 3.
The Congress did not win even a single seat and was placed third in a majority of constituencies. In as many as 12 assembly seats, settlers are in more number among the voters. In the previous election they showed their anger on the Congress for bifurcating AP. But they did not support TRS also because it had played a key role in bifurcation.
Anger against the Congress and the TRS helped the TD and the BJP in wining majority of the seats. The TD won 9 and the BJP 5. But in the GHMC elections, settlers supported the TRS which won 99 seats out of 150.
Congress leaders are of the opinion that this time the settlers are angry with the BJP for not granting Special Category Status to AP and this will help them in winning a majority of seats and that the TD is fighting for existence. Keeping this in view, TPCC Chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy announced several times that Seemandhra leaders (settlers) would be given tickets in Hyderabad in the next elections.
To win the heart of settlers, the TPCC has arranged a meeting of Congress President Rahul Gandhi at Serilinga-mpally where a large number of settlers stay. In the previous elections, the TD won in Qutbullapur, Serilingampally, Kuka-tpally, LB Nagar, Rajen-dranagar and other constituencies where settlers have influence.
The TRS has raised objections against the Congress calling Seemandhra people living in and around Hyderabad as settlers.
IT Minister KT Rama Rao said that the Congress party was trying to divide Seemandhra people living in Telangana by terming them as settlers. He said “While TRS is calling all people living in Telangana state as Telanganites, the Congress is dividing them by calling them as settlers for selfish political gains in the 2019 elections. While the TRS is saying that there are no settlers in Telangana, the Congress is calling them as settlers.”
